Flu numbers down in Deschutes County

It’s the most severe flu season we’ve seen in years, but is the worst finally behind us?

The Deschutes County Public Health Department looks at weekly reports on emergency room visits for flu-like symptoms and positive flu tests received from labs. The good news is, this week and last week, the numbers were down in both categories.

Heather Kaisner, a health information officer for the county, said Wednesday the department is still waiting on one lab report to release the flu test numbers. But the most recent weekly report shows 58 Deschutes County residents visited an emergency room across the state of Oregon for flu, which is lower than week two (86), week one (102), and week 52 (100).

But we’re not necessarily over the hump.

Kaisner said flu season can have more than one peak. However, she said as of now, the numbers are promising.

“I don’t want to say we’re in the clear, because we still have a lot of cases. So it’s still really important to be vigilant protecting yourself,” Kaisner said.

The department will watch to see if the instances continue to decline over the next few weeks before officially saying the season is winding down.

Kaisner still recommends consistent and thorough hand-washing, and said it’s still not too late to get a flu shot.

She said flu season is always unpredictable, and this one has not only been more severe than the past several years, it’s also been longer. Central Oregon usually sees cases peak in late January to early February.

“It hit early this year. So a lot of people started getting sick around the holidays, and we saw a huge uptick, and that’s been really consistent until this last week,” Kaisner said.

A representative for the St. Charles Health System also said things are looking better. Flu cases pushed the hospitals to capacity a few weeks ago. Now, inpatient numbers are down and the hospitals are no longer full.