Flu cases are spiking in Western Pennsylvania as the region’s doctors treat high numbers of patients stricken with the seasonal respiratory illness.
Dr. Amy Crawford-Faucher, a family physician and chair of the Allegheny Health Network Primary Care Institute, said Wednesday she’s seen a “significant increase” in the number of people admitted to the system’s hospitals for the flu.
As of Tuesday, Allegheny Health Network had 79 patients hospitalized with severe flu, according to Crawford-Faucher. At the same time last year, the network had 28 patients admitted with flu across its hospitals.
“We certainly are right now at one of the highest points this season for respiratory illnesses,” Crawford-Faucher said.
Outpatient family doctors are reporting patients have been either coming in for appointments with flu symptoms or contacting doctors with questions about the virus, she said.
Influenza activity across Pennsylvania is “very high” and increased from last week, according to the state’s Respiratory Virus Dashboard.
As of Feb. 1, there were 99,554 confirmed flu cases across the state since Sept. 29 and 179 flu-related deaths, the dashboard showed. That’s up from 81,050 cases during the same period a year earlier.
Allegheny County has seen 7,204 cases in that period, while Westmoreland County had 1,711 flu cases, according to the dashboard.
The typical flu season starts in late December and lasts through March in Western Pennsylvania, Crawford-Faucher said.
Last year’s flu season saw cases crest one to two months earlier than usual, according to Crawford-Faucher. This year’s timing for a spike is more typical.
Dr. Graham Snyder, medical director of infection protection and hospital epidemiology at UPMC, said the flu season can start as early as October or as late as January — and last until April.
“How long influenza remains elevated or how intense of a season, those can be variable season to season,” he said.
Snyder declined to release UPMC’s flu numbers. Independence Health did not make anyone available for comment.
In Western Pennsylvania, lots of influenza is circulating, according to Snyder, alongside a substantial amount of covid and RSV.
“This is the first year since the covid pandemic that we’re really seeing all three of them at a high level of activity,” he said. “The influenza, though, is definitely dominating.”
Expected rise
Crawford-Faucher said she’s unfazed by the surge in flu cases, which was anticipated.
“It’s the height of the season, so that’s what we’re expecting to see,” she said.
The flu spike, which began a few weeks ago, will likely last at least for a few more weeks in a best-case scenario, Snyder said.
“I would say that the rate of hospitalizations we’re observing … is within a usual range for influenza season,” he said. “Like nationally, every single year, hundreds of thousands (are) hospitalized with influenza around the country.”
Snyder and Crawford-Faucher noted the flu remains a serious illness.
“People are still dying from covid and from flu,” Crawford-Faucher noted.
Most cases, however, resolve without severe consequences.
“Even though people feel really bad for five to seven days when they have these illnesses, most won’t get seriously ill,” Crawford-Faucher said.
Crawford-Faucher expressed concern about increasing public skepticism and lack of education about vaccines — not only covid-19 but other preventable illnesses such as the flu.
“Are we seeing more flu because fewer people chose to get the flu shot?” she said. “I’m worried is this going to be what we see more of? Vaccines are an important part of minimizing the spread.”
Another reason for the surge could simply be because some seasons have more of a prevalence of the disease than others, Crawford-Faucher said.
Mitigating spread
With the flu cases soaring, doctors have some standard advice to keep from spreading the illness.
People with flu-like symptoms such as chills, fever, a sore throat or cough should isolate themselves, according to Crawford-Faucher.
Those who are sick should stay away from elderly people, very young children and babies, as well as people who have very serious medical conditions, she said.
With so many respiratory illnesses going around, it’s hard to tell which virus is which based on symptoms alone, Snyder said.
“I suggest that people who are older in age, who have underlying medical conditions, especially those that weaken the immune system — people who have loved ones at risk — it’s important to consider getting tested for covid and flu,” he said. “We have antiviral medications for each of those viruses that are most important to take early.”
Antiviral medications can decrease risk of hospitalization, Snyder said.
“Don’t wait until you’re seriously ill if you’re at risk,” he said.
It’s not too late to consider vaccines, as well, Snyder said, considering the flu season will continue for weeks longer.
To help protect vulnerable populations, people should cover their mouths and noses when coughing and sneezing to cut down on transmission of the flu, she said. People shouldn’t handle dishes and should clean off surfaces they touch.
And Crawford-Faucher had one more piece of time-tested advice: “Wash hands all the time.”
Megan Swift is a TribLive reporter covering trending news in Western Pennsylvania. A Murrysville native, she joined the Trib full time in 2023 after serving as editor-in-chief of The Daily Collegian at Penn State. She previously worked as a Jim Borden Scholarship intern at the Trib for three summers. She can be reached at mswift@triblive.com.
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