According to the Maine Center for Disease Control (CDC), Maine is now experiencing wide-spread flu outbreaks, with 27 new outbreaks reported, 26 in long term care facilities, and one in a Maine hospital.
In Lincoln County, Waldoboro Police Chief Bill Labombarde reported Jan. 8 that half of his department was out due to the flu, over a week-long period.
“At one point, it was only me and another guy, and one trainee able to work,” Labombarde said. “It just walloped the tar out of us. This is a bad one.”
“If I had not gotten my flu shot I think I would have been down,” he said.
Labombarde said there were approximately 120 flu-related absences at Medomak Valley High School Jan. 7.
On the following day, MVHS reported 140 students and 13 teachers out due to flu-related illness.
In other schools in Lincoln County, and according Great Salt Bay School Secretary Lisa Stevens, “GSB is experiencing several kids out, but not too awfully bad, yet.”
Likewise, Sue Shiminski, at Bristol Consolidated School confirms the findings that flu has not hit BCS student and staff population yet, but it is expected anytime.
Statewide, however, it’s a different picture. According to the Maine CDC, there’s been reportedly a greater than or equal to 15 percent absenteeism among K-8th grade students and among daycares, where the majority of those absent report respiratory symptoms. Laboratory-confirmed influenza has been reported by one or more students by any testing method.
Individuals are presenting with fever, greater than or equal to 100°F along with cough and/or sore throat, with body aches.
Common symptoms are characterized by the abrupt onset of respiratory signs and symptoms, such as fever, muscle aches, headache, severe malaise, non-productive cough, sore throat, and runny nose. Influenza is spread from person to person primarily through the coughing and sneezing of infected people.
The Maine CDC’s definition of widespread outbreak includes cases of influenza, or increases in influenza-like-symptoms and recent laboratory-confirmed influenza in at least half the regions of the state.
People who have received the influenza vaccine may still get the virus, but reportedly the severity and longevity of the disease is generally greatly diminished, and healthcare professionals say it is not too late to be inoculated against flu.
Weekly Maine Influenza Surveillance reports are published each Tuesday during influenza season on Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (Maine CDC)
Influenza website (www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious-disease/epi/influenza/influenza-surveillance-weekly-updates.shtml) and are available through email list serve by contacting 1-800-821-5821, or by emailing disease.reporting@maine.gov.
