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Residents advised to seek medication for nasty strain of the virus
The recent holiday season of Christmas heading into the New Year might not have been all fun and games for a number of area residents, who have battled cases of a difficult strain of influenza that has hit Ohio and the rest of the country much earlier than the usual peak of flu activity in February, Logan County Health Commissioner Dr. Boyd Hoddinott reports.
He informed Logan County District Board of Health members at their Wednesday afternoon meeting that flu activity, in fact, has reached epidemic level in Central Ohio and in many areas of the U.S. Local medical offices have seen so many flu cases that they are running out of testing supplies to confirm the virus, he noted.
Despite that issue, he said individuals with symptoms of a fever of 101 or greater and who are feeling achy, having chills and headaches and a sore throat should see their medical practitioner to inquire about antiviral medications such as Tamiflu to help reduce the severity of their illness.
“It is time to treat,” the health commissioner said.
“Individuals can receive Tamiflu up to four days after the onset of symptoms. We are encouraging them to do so to give them every bit of help that we can. We’re seeing such a nasty strain of the virus this year that is difficult to fight and is ending up with more hospitalizations. I’m observing that some cases of the flu are turning into pneumonia.
“Receiving the antiviral medications can also help reduce the spread of the illness.”
Read complete story in Thursday’s Examiner.
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