Flu Week 7: Emergency Room Visits Still High But Going Down
The percentage of emergency room visits due to the flu are at 11.2 percent in Kane County — higher than they have been since the dreaded season of 2009-10.
Why is that good news?
Because the trends are showing that those percentages are rapidly dropping.
According to the Week 7 of Kane County’s Influenza Surveillance Summary, labs from six hospitals reported that 475 of 1,297 (36.6 percent) of specimens tested for influenza were positive.
Of these 475 specimens:
- 325 (68.4 percent) were positive for Influenza A
- 147 (30.9 percent) were positive for Influenza B
- 3 (0.6 percent) were positive for Influenza A/B
No other specimen tested positive for the week ending Feb. 17, 2018.
The ILI absenteeism rate for public schools in Kane County was 0.58 percent. That’s down from a high two weeks earlier of about 1.23 percent.
No public school was closed for increased ILI activity.
As of the week ending Feb. 17, there have been 59 cases of influenza-related intensive care unit admission reported to the Health Department.
To date, 19 outbreaks of influenza have been reported in Long- Term Care/Assisted Living facilities in Kane County.
No influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported.
Pediatric Deaths Nationwide
Kane County is lucky to have had no pediatric deaths this flu season. The state of Illinois has reported five pediatric deaths, and nationwide, 97 influenza-associated pediatric deaths have been reported for the 2017-2018 season.
Thirteen influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported to CDC during Week 7.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, every state except Oregon has “widespread” influenza. Illinois continues to be among the states where flu activity is at the highest level.
Most emergency room patients in Kane County and nationally have been in the 5-24 age group. The good news is that those numbers are dropping, as well.
Kane County visits for influenza-like illness to reporting emergency rooms during Week 7 had the following age distribution:
- 0-4 years: 22.6 percent of all ILI visits
- 5-24 years: 40.3 percent of all ILI visits
- 25-64 years: 28.1 percent of all ILI visits
- 65+ years: 9.0 percent of all ILI visits
Read More
- Week 6 Flu Report: Pediatric Deaths Up To 84 Nationwide, But Kane ER Visits Finally Begin To Fall
- Flu Report: No End In Sight For Influenza’s Dramatic Rise
- Week 4 Flu Report: 53 Pediatric Deaths Nationwide But None in Kane County
- Flu Surveillance Report: Percentage of ER Cases Rises Dramatically
- IMSA Closed Due To High Levels of Flu Cases
- Flu Myths Vs. Facts: Deaths On Rise, But Vaccine More Effective Than Reports
- Flu-Like Activity Spikes Sharply in Kane County — ‘Most Severe in Recent Years’
- CDC, Kane Health Department: Flu Season Getting Worse Fast
