Area records first influenza death of the season
Acting medical officer of health suggests it’s not too late to get a flu vaccination
Two weeks into a “bad flu season” the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit has confirmed one person has died in relation to influenza.
“Most commonly what happens when someone dies from influenza, they already have some underlying medical conditions that puts them at risk for developing some other complications,” said Dr. Wajid Ahmed, acting medical officer of health. “Most people recover completely from influenza but in some cases it may cause pneumonia. When people are sick enough, the pneumonia can lead to difficulty in breathing and eventually leads to death.”
On Wednesday, Windsor Regional Hospital declared an Influenza B outbreak at its Ouellette campus but said Friday there had been no new cases reported. On Friday, there were two positive and two probable Influenza B cases. Influenza (the flu) is a virus that causes an infection of the nose, throat and lungs and is easily spread when an infected person talks, coughs or sneezes. The virus can live on surfaces for several hours and germs can be spread just by touching your eyes or nose after contact with a contaminated surface. Symptoms generally start one to three days after being exposed.
“The symptoms are always the same and this is no different than any others,” Ahmed said. “Most will notice a high-grade fever, malaise, difficulty breathing and loss of appetite, sneezing and coughing — all those symptoms are part of influenza.”
He said with the current strain of flu the malaise, which is a general weakness of the body, seems to be “more severe” than any other type of respiratory illness. The flu can affect anyone, even those who are healthy, but people at higher risk of serious complications are young children, babies under six months of age, adults over 65, pregnant women and those living with chronic health conditions (such as asthma, bronchitis, diabetes and heart disease).
Ahmed said the best way to prevent the influenza is to get the annual flu vaccine. He said other measures that can be taken include staying home from work or social settings when you are sick. Hand washing is also very important in helping reduce the transmission of influenza, as is avoiding the touching of public surfaces such as door knobs and counters.
“It’s not too late to get your flu vaccine,” he said. “The vaccine takes two weeks to show some protection, but it’s never too late because we are right in the middle of it and, looking at the evidence, this one is a bad flu season.”
Most people recover completely from influenza but in some cases it may cause pneumonia.