JACKSON, Wyo. — Influenza cases in Jackson are rising in number, and Director of Health for Teton County Dr. Travis Riddell spoke with Buckrail to give some insight and discuss the virus’ status in the community.
On Monday, Dec. 15, the Teton County School District posted to Facebook saying that school nurses were seeing a spike in student illness and flu symptoms. Riddell said that, anecdotally, he estimated about 20% of students at the middle school have been out sick this week. Many people in the area are testing positive for influenza A.
“There is this variant, subclade K, of flu A going around that, unfortunately, seems to have maybe subverted the vaccines this year,” Riddell told Buckrail. “It’s a strain that evolved in the southern hemisphere over their winter, our most recent summer, and it seems to potentially have evolved to the point where our seasonal flu vaccine is perhaps not a good fit for it. We don’t know that definitively by any means.”
Riddell, Teton County Public Health and the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) all strongly recommend receiving the seasonal flu vaccine. According to Riddell, the vaccine is still effective at reducing risk of more severe infection, hospitalization and worse. So far, Riddell is not aware of many flu-related hospitalizations in Jackson yet, though cases and hospitalizations are on the rise around the country.
Teton County Public Health tracks the virus using wastewater surveillance, but the most recent preliminary data point is likely a very high outlier, according to Riddell. He discourages against drawing any conclusions from a single sample, but he is eager to get more data and samples that would either confirm or deny the high presence of flu.
A new piece to the puzzle has emerged since the Coronavirus pandemic: at-home tests. Riddell said these tests are fairly accurate and useful for those experiencing symptoms. Though there is the chance of a false negative if there is minor operator error, certain antigen tests available at drug stores will show results for COVID-19, influenza A and influenza B. If the flu is detected quickly after the onset of symptoms, there are antiviral medications (like prescription tamiflu) that can help.
“Generally we think that those medications are only effective if you start them within about 48 to 72 hours of the onset of your symptoms,” Riddell said. “So if you can do the test at home, then get in touch with your provider, or go in and see somebody sooner, then there is definitely an advantage to that.”
In a Tuesday press release from WDH, state health officer Dr. Alexia Harrist explained that it can take up to two weeks for the influenza vaccines to fully kick in. She said that it is easy for someone to pass the flu on to another person who might be at high risk for serious complications.
“Getting vaccinated before the people around you become ill provides the best protection,” said Harrist.
