This is our county. Hubby has had this over a week now.
Flu virus takes hold of county
By ROBERT HORNE
editor@thecherokeescout.com
Coughs, high fevers, sore throats and runny noses are running rampant on residents of Cherokee County.
Local health officials have confirmed that a late-arriving influenza virus is taking its toll on western North Carolina.
Janet Kernea of Murphy Medical Center said the Urgent Care Center averaged six to eight positive flu screens per day last week. The emergency room also is seeing about the same number a day.
Emergency room director Dr. Mark Walters said that the flu is just getting to the area.
“This year, the flu moved from the western part of the country to the eastern coast,” he said.
County Health Director Elaine Russell also has seen more reported flu cases.
“We are starting to see an increase of confirmed cases of flu through Urgent Care, the hospital and overall in western North Carolina,” Russell said. “There has been a late-emerging flu season nationwide, and it appears we are following suit.”
North Carolina is listed in the “widespread” zone for influenza, moving from the “regional” zone where it was last week, according to the Center for Disease Control’s influenza Web site.
The flu virus has taken a toll on county schools. School health coordinator Sue Lynn Ledford said absentee rates have gone up in the past few weeks, but the numbers are not unusual in flu season. Ledford added that a lot of kids are leaving during the day.
“I don’t think we are above the curve with our absentee rate, although it is high right now,” she said.
Both Walters and Urgent Care Center physician assistant William Kelly have reported seeing more children come down with the flu this year.
The good news is local officials are reporting this influenza strain is milder than in year’s past. Walters said the symptoms do not appear to be as severe, and Russell said it has been a relatively mild year for the flu across the United States.
Russell added more good news, or at least good news for those not afraid of a little pinprick. The health department, at 228 Hilton St. in Murphy, still has shots available. The shot costs $25. The health department accepts Medicare Part B.
“We have a few shots remaining, and we encourage people to stop by and partake,” she said. “There has not been not an increased request due to the late emergence of flu in the United States.”
If the flu bug has already taken hold, remember to get plenty of rest, drink plenty of liquids, avoid using tobacco and alcohol, and take medications to relieve the symptoms, according to the CDC.
http://www.thecherokeescout.com/news/topstory.html
I am so sorry that the hubbie is ill with the flu.
If you have Oregano Essential Oil, get him to smelling it, it helps settle the stomach and is about the best germ killer there is on the market.
I keep a bottle by the computer, for sinus infections, haven't had a bad one in several years, since I got the bottle.
It stinks, that must be why it settles the stomach.
There have been real tests done on it and it is a germ killer, sprayed in the air.
The Lavender will help too, but is not going to kill the same germs that the Oregano does.
I try to smell it 3 times a day, if I don't I get sinus infections, have had them always and the oxygen machine hose in the nose does not help.
My county has had a massive police bust, over 100 more police from other places came in.
Yesterday, they arrested over 80 people for drugs and gangs.
Haven't heard what the total for last night and today is.
The radio keeps saying it is going to send a message to the gangs that we do not want them here.
I hear that the muslim population in this area has made a big growth, so am curious to see if there are jihadi types in the arrests.
The reporter never mentioned ICE or illegals........
Still 80 in one day is a good start.
Police from all over Arizona, California and Nevada.....
Good news, I thank each and every one of them.