Statewide cases of influenza have skyrocketed in the last month. The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services reports a 250% increase in lab-confirmed cases compared to any season since 2015. A flu outbreak in the Valdez City Schools District led to an absence rate of nearly 30% in recent days. KCHU’s Shahmeer Azmat discovered that, though attendance numbers are now rising, health authorities urge parents caution is still needed. Click on Shahmeer’s picture below to hear the audio.
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School officials first noticed flu symptoms spreading around the student body last week. Superintendent Shawn Arnold released a statement via the Valdez City School District’s Facebook page to address the subsequent spike in absence rates.
SHAWN ARNOLD: “The flu hit our schools pretty bad. I think there are a couple of strains that are going through. We had started seeing this last week there and had thought that over the weekend it would run its course. But we had about 20, almost 30%, of the kids out sick in some of our schools.”
Arnold said attendance suffered at all Valdez City Schools on Monday and Tuesday. Gilson Middle School was most severely affected.
SHAWN ARNOLD: “The biggest impact was our middle school. We had about 40 students, or maybe even about 50 students out. And we only have about 170 students there in the building.”
In his Facebook statement, Superintendent Arnold reassured parents that the school district was taking the necessary steps to limit the further spread of illness. Custodial staff were instructed to sanitize surfaces schoolwide up to three times per day in some cases. Parents were also encouraged to keep sick children at home. Arnold said containing the outbreak is his top priority.
SHAWN ARNOLD: “Our biggest concern is we’ve got many, many basketball teams traveling into Valdez this weekend. We didn’t want to share that out with the outlying state. Several of our basketball players have been affected by the flu, including their coaches. They have been resting and recovering, but should be healthy for the weekend.”
Parents in the school district had mixed reactions to the superintendent’s statement. Christopher Knowles kept his first-grade daughter home from school for several days. He said he wasn’t surprised by the outbreak.
CHRISTOPHER KNOWLES: “You know, I’ve been in the school district for over 18 years now with my oldest being twenty-seven and the youngest in first grade. Every year you go through this. This is a worse one than some years past, but not as bad as others.”
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However, Knowles said he would have liked to know sooner about the spread of influenza around the school district.
CHRISTOPHER KNOWLES: “You got to balance it. They do a great job. Little bit earlier next time. I’d err on the side of caution rather than after the fact.”
Statewide the number of confirmed cases of influenza has already far exceeded totals in recent years. By the end of February 2017, the Department of Health and Social Services reported less than 600 confirmed cases. And by the end of February 2018, around 1400. The total number of confirmed cases as of last week was 2655.
Common symptoms of the flu are fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, chills, fatigue and, in children, some times diarrhea and vomiting. Olivia Foster is a nurse at Providence Valdez Medical Center. She specializes in Infection Prevention and Epidemiology as well as Population Care Coordination. She described the best practices for preventing the spread of influenza.
OLIVIA FOSTER: “So the first and most important step in preventing flu is to get a flu vaccine each year. Flu vaccine has been shown to reduce flu-related illness and the risk of serious flu complications that result in hospitalization or death. CDC also recommends everyday prevention actions like staying away from people who are sick, covering coughs and sneezes and frequent handwashing.”
Foster said those experiencing symptoms can benefit from a timely visit to their primary care provider.
OLIVIA FOSTER: “Tamiflu is an oral medication that, if you see you primary care provider within 48 hours, can actually reduce the length of your illness. And what Tamiflu is, it’s just a five-day course of one pill that you take twice daily.”
Foster encouraged residents to take influenza prevention and treatment seriously. The Centers for Disease Control estimate that influenza-associated deaths in the US ranged from a low of 12,000 to a high of 56,000 per season in recent years.
OLIVIA FOSTER: “Influenza can kill you. Um. And it’s scary to watch a loved one have to deal with influenza.”
