Hospitals brace for harsh winter of flu

Southeast Arkansas hospitals and health clinics are bracing for possibly one of the worst influenza seasons in years.

Combine the still-present covid pandemic and an uptick in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and doctors could face an onslaught of sick patients in December and into the new year.

“This year we have seen an earlier and more intense start to the flu season than in years prior,” Mike Cima, Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) state epidemiologist, said. “We expect that flu activity will continue to increase throughout the state for the next few weeks.” Pine Bluff and southeast Arkansas hospitals and clinics are already seeing an increase in flu cases.

Wendy Talbot, director of patient experience at Pine Bluff’s Jefferson Regional Medical Center, said flu cases were up in the emergency room and urgent care. As of Tuesday, nine people were hospitalized at Jefferson Regional with flu. “Recently, there’s been a big wave of influenza type A along with some other upper respiratory viruses,” Dr. Tim McClure, JRMC Emergency Department medical director, said. “I recommend getting vaccinated for flu if you haven’t already, and I recommend staying up-to-date on your covid booster as well.”

The latest ADH weekly flu report, dated Nov. 19, reported more than 9,500 positive tests by health care providers. This number does not include people who may be sick and don’t visit a clinic for a flu test. For the last two years, flu has been milder throughout the United States.

Medical experts say that’s because people stayed indoors and social distanced because of the pandemic. Mask wearing was also more prevalent. Now most people are back to pre-pandemic life, and viruses are exploding.

In Fordyce, David Mantz, Dallas County Medical Center chief executive officer, said, that doctors are seeing an increase in all viral respiratory illnesses.

“We have definitely seen an increase in viral illnesses,” Mantz said. “We are seeing flu, RSV and covid infections. RSV in the adult population has previously been primarily a cold-like illness but we are seeing some more serious cases in adults with RSV. Although sick, we have, fortunately, not seen the intensely ill patients we saw during the previous periods of the covid-19 pandemic.” RSV, flu and covid have similar symptoms.

RSV is a common childhood disease. Most children have it at least once before they are two years old. In healthy children, RSV mimics a cold affecting the nose, throat and lungs. But other children can become very sick with RSV.

This year, RSV has become more common in adults especially those over 65. In adults, RSV also mirrors a cold but some cases can become serious with breathing problems and dehydration leading to a hospital stay. ADH does not track RSV cases, so it’s unclear how many cases are currently in the state.

At Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, doctors have seen a lot of flu and RSV cases already this fall, said Dr. Rick Barr, chief clinical and academic officer for Arkansas Children’s health system.

“Arkansas Children’s is experiencing a spike in influenza among

children,” Barr said. “Coupled with the impact of respiratory illnesses like RSV, our emergency departments are busy caring for children in the state. Given these early trends and the strong efficacy of this year’s vaccine, we encourage all eligible children and their families to receive the flu vaccine soon.”

As of Nov. 19, ADH reported 19 flu-related deaths this flu season including one pediatric death. Eight nursing homes in Arkansas have reported flu outbreaks. In the same report, school absentees were increasing in the state because of illnesses including in southeast Arkansas.

Flu symptoms usually come on suddenly, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms may include fever (but not always), cough, sore throat, runny or stuff nose, body aches, headaches and fatigue. Some people, especially children, may have vomiting and diarrhea.

Covid cases are also increasing in Arkansas. As of Nov. 28, the latest ADH data available, there were 3,277 active cases in the state.

“As for covid-19, each of the past two years we have seen substantial increases in transmission, hospitalizations and deaths beginning in November and continuing through January,” Cima said. “While this year is unlike the previous two (with updated boosters, antivirals and considerable numbers of people with recent prior infections), it is expected that covid-19 activity will begin to increase to some degree in the coming weeks.”

While no vaccine exists for RSV, flu and covid vaccines can help ease symptoms and a virus’ overall severity.

Flu and covid vaccines can take up to two weeks for immunity to build up against the viruses. Health officials are urging people to get vaccinated now to prepare for Christmas gatherings.

“We are thankful that we are well equipped and staffed to manage the volume of patients we are seeing in both of our rural health clinics as well as in the hospital,” Mantz said. “We continue to encourage safe behavior around crowds, good hand-hygiene and keeping vaccinations up to date.”