Flu cases are on the rise in Ohio hospitals. Visitation restrictions are starting at many hospitals across the state to prevent further spread.
The Ohio Department of Health reports 294 confirmed flu-related hospitalizations during the last week of December, up 81% from the week prior. Flu-related emergency department visits and outpatient visits have also been rising.
Dayton-area recently implemented visitor restrictions due to the flu season, restricting visits from children younger than 14 years old and people with respiratory symptoms.
Holiday festivities and kids heading back to school are two of the stressors leading to rising flu cases.
With colder temps and family gatherings increasing during the winter season, the virus is spreading fast, according to Dan Suffoletto, public information manager for Public Health — Dayton & Montgomery County.
While cases are on the rise across the state, numbers are currently below the five year average. Suffoletto said this is not a reason to let down your guard.
"It's something you should not ignore. You should definitely take seriously," he said. "People who are elderly, they can sometimes have a bad reaction to the flu. Also, people who have weakened immune systems, they are also at risk as well. But that being said, anybody can get the flu and anybody could have serious consequences of the flu."
Influenza is highly contagious and according to the CDC.
Some ways to prevent spreading the virus are to wash your hands frequently, stay home when sick and disinfect surfaces.
"Unfortunately people are going to get sick. So as much as you can plan ahead to have a way to be treated, that's also very important," Suffoletto said. "So if you don't have a primary care physician, you want to sign up with one now. Even if you are not sick at all, because you need to have someone to be able to go to when you initially get sick."
According to Suffoletto, the best way to stay healthy is to stay up to date on flu vaccinations.
“It's available locally at a lot of different places: grocery stores, pharmacies, many doctor's offices have it as well. You can also look at Vaccines.gov that has information about how to get it.”
Suffoletto said norovirus cases are also on the rise and he suggests disinfecting surfaces with a mixture of bleach and water to prevent spreading the virus.
"When you're cleaning that surface, you need to let that bleach sit there for about five minutes before you wipe it up," he said. " Just don't just don't wipe it down and wipe that gap. You need to have that solution sitting there on the surface to give it enough time to kill the norovirus."
