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Flu Arrives for Holidays First Cases of Season Reported in Nebraska and Western Iowa

Posted on: Tuesday, 6 December 2005, 18:00 CST

By Nichole Aksamit

Been meaning to get a flu shot? Now's the time.

Flu -- not bird flu, but the kind that comes around each year - - is floating on the frigid Nebraska and Iowa air.

State health officials on Monday reported the first smattering of positive flu test results this season: 10 cases of influenza A in Nebraska and one in western Iowa. Nebraska also reported three cases of the milder influenza B.

Health officials in both states urged people who want to lower their risk for severe flu complications to get vaccinated -- either with the FluMist nasal spray (for healthy people ages 5 to 49) or with a flu shot (for others 6 months and older).

The vaccine offers protection from certain strains of influenza A and B, the two types of flu that circulate during cold weather months and typically don't peak until January or February.

"We have every reason to believe the vaccine's a good match for the viruses this year," said Dr. Tom Safranek, Nebraska's state epidemiologist. He said the few circulating strains identified so far are included in this season's vaccine.

Influenza spreads when an infected person coughs, sneezes or otherwise sends the virus into the air and other people inhale it. People also can contract flu from touching something contaminated with virus and then touching their own nose, mouth or eyes.

Flu symptoms typically include fever, headache, fatigue, cough, sore throat, nasal congestion and body aches that come on suddenly. Severe complications include pneumonia and even death.

To help prevent the flu's spread, health officials recommend covering your cough or sneeze, regularly washing your hands and staying home when you're sick.

Source: Omaha World - Herald

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