News and Public Media for North Central Florida
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Alachua County, Whole State See Late Flu Peaks

(Photo by Serena Hardware/WUFT News)
(Photo by Serena Hardware/WUFT News)

Flu season typically peaks in January, but Alachua County residents might still be seeing the worst of it because of this year's climbs in February and March.

“What we’re seeing is a peak later than usual in Alachua County,” said Paul Myers, administrator for the Alachua County Health Department.

Last year, the University of Florida Health Shands Hospital saw less than 50 cases of the flu in February and less than 25 in March, said Dr. Nicole Iovine, an infectious-disease physician at the hospital.

But by the end of this February, the hospital reported 115 cases of the flu, a number that grew to 206 two weeks into March. 

“Typically, by the time March rolls around, we would say the flu is pretty much over,” Iovine said.

Since mid-February, a large number of students have come into UF's Student Health Care Center sick, said Catherine Seemann, a spokeswoman for the center.

One particular spike came between Feb. 14 and 16, when 63 people who came into the center were diagnosed with the flu, Seemann said.

Dylan Wald, a UF chemical engineering student who was diagnosed with the flu by the center toward the end of February, was given anti-flu pills for treatment.

"It was rough," the 21-year-old said. "It was the first time I had [the flu]."

Overall, flu shots haven't been given to an irregular amount of UF students. In a typical season, 10,000 to 12,000 of the shots are administered at UF's student infirmary, Seemann said, and for this season, between 11,000 and 12,000 UF students received them.

According to Iovine, the flu is a lot more serious than people think.

“People usually have a cough or a sniffle or feel a little crummy, and [they] think they have the flu," she said. "That's probably not the flu."

Symptoms can be so bad that some patients have to be admitted to UF Health's Intensive Care Unit, Iovine said, adding that the hospital has done so for 30 flu patients since Feb. 1.

Though flu numbers are up for February and March, they don’t represent all Alachua County demographics, Myers said.

“There’s an increase in UF students and the actual community but not in our children 18 and below," he said, noting that exact numbers are non-reportable.

Myers said high-school-age children and younger aren't contracting the illness thanks to the county's FluMist program, offered each fall. The program gives a free flu vaccine to all public and private school students in the county with parental consent.

How the flu affects the county is "very unpredictable but reflective of the issue statewide," Myers said.

The state overall has been seeing near-peak levels of the flu but hasn't yet reached the full climax, according to the Florida Department of Health. Not yet reaching the peak means this year has the most late-season activity in the last three years, the department says.

People should practice good hygiene and get flu vaccines, which are still available at UF Shands, Iovine said.

Those who think they've come down with the flu are encouraged to take time off work because the illness is contagious, she said.

“If you’re sick, stay home,” Iovine said. “Take care of yourself.”

Serena is a reporter for WUFT News who may be contacted by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news @wuft.org