Lebanon
The definition refers to the geographic area where the number of reported acute respiratory illnesses has increased, said Beth Daly, chief of the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control at the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. It does not refer to an “outbreak,” Daly added.
“This is in line with the standard influenza season,” Daly said. “This is the time when we start to see more cases, in December and January. There has been an increase in respiratory illnesses and lab-confirmed influenza.”
At Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, regional hospital epidemiologist Dr. Michael S. Calderwood said the hospital has had 12 patients test positive for influenza A in the past 10 days. Further, the hospital and its clinics have experienced an increase in the number of patients registering with cough symptoms from October and November, he said in an email.
In a phone interview this week, Dr. Calderwood said in 2016, the percentage of patients with influenza type illnesses was around 2 to 2.5 percent in October and November and rose to 3.75 in December.
“Based on these numbers, DHMC sent out an alert about the start of influenza season on Dec. 21. The week after this alert was sent out is when we began seeing an increase in positive laboratory testing for influenza,” Dr. Calderwood said in an email. “Much of this is still in our ambulatory practices and urgent care clinics, with the largest numbers down in Manchester and Nashua.”
At Valley Regional Hospital, infectious preventionist Shannon Metzger said, there has been a slight increase in the number of people coming to the emergency department, urgent care and pediatric care with flu-like symptoms.
At New London Hospital, which also owns Newport Health Center, the upper respiratory illness activity is what is expected this time of year and they have only a few confirmed cases of influenza, infection prevention and employee health manager Anne Nolan said in an email.
Daly, Dr. Calderwood and others said these signs are not unusual for this time of year; they are just an indication that flu season has arrived. They said people should consider the usual precautions, such as making sure to get plenty of rest.
“The big thing is hand hygiene,” Dr. Calderwood said. “Cover your cough with your elbow, not your hands, and if you are feeling sick, stay home and away from public places.”
DHMC, Valley Regional and other health care providers take precautions with their employees, such as requiring them to be vaccinated and making employees with a cough or fever stay home from work. Wearing masks to prevent the spread of a respiratory virus also is required of medical staffers with a cough, and employees at the two hospitals are required to get an annual flu shot.
According to a recent state report, the number of acute respiratory illnesses reported at emergency departments in New Hampshire’s 26 acute care hospitals has steadily increased to around 4 percent of patients. The percentage has risen week to week since a low of 1 percent in late August. Acute respiratory illness, or ARI, covers a wide range of complaints from fever, cough and sore throat to the flu, flu-like symptoms and respiratory infections.
The term “widespread” applies to New Hampshire because six of the state’s 10 counties, or more than half, are experiencing reports of significant increase in people seeking medical care for respiratory illnesses, Daly said.
On the state’s most recent ARI activity report for the first week of Januay, Grafton County rose to “high,” an increase from its “elevated” designation in the last week of December. Hillsborough and Rockingham counties also are listed as “high.” Merrimack and Strafford counties are designated as “elevated,” which is just above “moderate” but below “high” and “very high,” which tops the list. No counties have yet been listed as “very high.”
Vermont is not on the “widespread” list.
At Gifford Medical Center, “88 percent of the staff has had flu shots, and those who have not are asked to wear a mask around patients for the duration of the flu season (as determined by CDC),” Robin Dutcher, a spokeswoman for the Randolph-based hospital, said in an email.
“We are starting to see patients presenting with flu symptoms in Gifford clinics — we are not testing for flu, but have diagnosed based on symptoms,” Dutcher said in the email.
In New Hampshire, Daly said the strain of flu this year is influenza A, which can cause severe fever, coughing, scratchy throat and muscle and body aches. Duration can be a week or more, and those who have it should consult their health care provider for an antiviral medication, she said.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
