Influenza has officially arrived in Maine this season, health officials said Monday.
The flu was confirmed last week through lab tests in a young adult from Aroostook County and a teenager from Penobscot County, according to a public health alert issued Monday by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Neither patient was vaccinated, had traveled recently, or required hospitalization.
A long-term care facility in Penobscot County reported an outbreak of influenza on Oct. 31, and a strain of seasonal flu was confirmed in an employee and a resident at the facility last Friday, the alert stated.
Three strains of the flu are circulating nationally. The flu vaccine is likely to offer good protection against all of them, according to health officials.
Yearly flu vaccination should begin in September, according to the U.S. CDC. Health officials are urging everyone over 6 months of age to get vaccinated against the illness.
The vaccine, available as both a shot and a nasal spray, takes effect in about two weeks. How well it protects against influenza varies from season to season and can depend on the individual.
To further reduce your chances of catching and spreading the illness this season, wash your hands regularly, cover your coughs and stay home if you’re sick.
The fevers, chills and body aches that typify the flu season can begin as early as October. The illness’ spread typically peaks in January and February but can continue into May.
dig out the Clorox wipes and sanitizer Mainas!!
I took my flu shot in September, so I would not need the Clorox wipes.
nice, now you can just slop it all over the place for the rest of us…
I wouldn’t toss them out too quickly. You’re only protected from 3 of over 300 strains of flu virus.
You’re telling me. I don’t get the flu every year, but every time I get the flu it’s not the one that’s covered by the shot.
Say it aint so…. Oh my….
my daughter here in florida has just recovered from influenza type A. She was totally fine last friday and woke up saturday morn. with a 102 temperature and felt like she’d been hit by a truck. Took five days (with Tamiflu) to start to feel human again. GET YOUR FLU SHOTS! Avoid this any way you can!!
I think I’ll pass on the annual dose of formaldehyde.
Rather have the Flu than a Stomach Virus, ick!
There must be a glut of flu vaccine–remember when resting, drinking plenty of fluids and sipping mother’s chicken soup(good for the soul, also) were sufficient to get over the flu? Many times it is a gastointestinal upset caused by food poisoning or mishandled food.
Influenza is an respiratory illness caused by a virus. It has nothing to do with the digestive system.