Flu season is officially here, and it has arrived a month or more earlier than normal.
The Missoula City-County Health Department on Friday afternoon issued an infectious disease advisory for Influenza A after confirming 18 cases in Missoula County during the week.
Officials haven't nailed down which strain has hit the county, but will assume for the time being it is H3N2, which has been confirmed in North Dakota and Utah recently.
The county will know which strain it is by next week.
H3N2 could be a concern, too, because some cases of it in Texas have shown an antigenic drift from the current vaccine for the H3N2 strain.
"What happens is that every year they generate a vaccine for three different strains of the flu, based on their best guess as to what will appear," Oliver said. "They watch flu activity around the world, and usually, they hit the nail on the head.
"Now, one of the strains you're vaccinated for is H3N2, but in Texas, there appears to be a drift toward other strains. Some cases seem not to be protected by vaccination there."
Oliver cautioned that no one should see that as an excuse not to be vaccinated. It's been true in only 33 percent of the Influenza A cases in Texas. And the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that "while vaccine protection against the H3N2 drift variants may be lower, the vaccine is expected to provide some degree of effectiveness although the level of protection cannot be predicted."
Eighteen cases in one week is quite a few to start the flu season, Oliver said, and reports are still coming in.
"It usually develops over a few weeks," he said. "This is getting started with a bang."
He said as far as he knew, Missoula County was the first in Montana to report any cases of Influenza A.
Reporter Vince Devlin can be reached at 523-5260 or vdevlin@missoulian.com
|
 |
 |
Add your comment now! Write your comment in the form below.
(Email address is for verification only. If you'd like to email a story, look for the link above)