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Officials from the New York State Health Department announced this week that the flu is spreading rapidly throughout the state, with some hospitals reportedly limiting visitation to prevent the spread of the virus.
Flu season kicks off in earnest in October each year, though patients can still be susceptible to certain strains in September, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC said that reported cases tend to increase in November before peaking between December and February. Flu season typically lasts through the middle of the spring. The organization estimates that flu has resulted in between 9.2 million and 35.6 million illnesses each year in the United States and several deaths. Of those illnesses, an estimated 9 percent were hospitalized.
In New York, during the week of Dec. 15, there were 1,230 laboratory-confirmed reports of influence, a 107 percent increase over the previous week. In the Hudson Valley, there were more than 10 cases of the flu per 100,000 people, the state Health Department reported. A total of 239 people were hospitalized with the flu, up 48 percent.
It takes approximately two weeks following the vaccination for the antibodies to protect against flu to develop in the body, so make plans to get vaccinated early in fall, before flu season begins.
The CDC recommends that people get a flu vaccine by the end of October, though there is still time to get vaccinated. Getting vaccinated later, however, can still be beneficial and vaccination should continue to be offered throughout flu season, even into January or later.
According to the CDC, the flu infects the respiratory tract. “As the infection progresses, the body’s immune system responds to fight the virus.
This results in inflammation that can trigger respiratory symptoms such as a cough and sore throat. The immune system response can also trigger fever and cause muscle or body aches.
When infected people cough, sneeze, or talk, they can spread influenza viruses in respiratory droplets to people who are nearby. People might also get flu by touching a contaminated surface or object that has flu virus on it and then touching their own mouth or nose.
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