(WSVN) - It has been a dangerous and deadly season across the U.S., but there are ways to stay safe if you are fighting the flu.
2018 is already shaping up to be one of the worst flu seasons in the United States.
Doctor: “It’s going to be significant, and the mortality rate, whenever we have these outbreaks in the United States, is very high.”
The H3N2 flu strain is being blamed for the deaths of two children in Florida and at least 20 more across the country. Forty-two people under the age of 65 in California have also died from flu-related illnesses.
A mother of three died just three days after being diagnosed.
Walter Oxley, father of flu victim: “Most of us get the flu and recover from it, and a handful of people every year don’t. You just don’t think it’s going to be your daughter, but you really want to take it serious.”
Forty-nine states, including Florida, are reporting widespread flu activity. That’s more than four times as many as last year. Most of the infections in Florida are in the northern counties.
Dr. Otto Ramos, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital: “It’s mostly, by far, Influenza A — H3N2, and it’s been going on for two-three weeks already.”
Dr. Otto Ramos, an infectious disease specialist at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami said babies, children with underlying conditions and the elderly are at the highest risk of getting sick.
Dr. Otto Ramos: “If you have a child that is vomiting, that is not taking proper fluids, that looks sick, that could be dehydrated, you need to bring them to the emergency room.”
Doctors say at the first sign of the flu, you should try to get Tamiflu from your doctor.
Dr. Otto Ramos: “It may decrease complications, and it may actually decrease the time that you are sick.”
The H3N2 strain is getting harder to fight. The Centers for Disease Control says the current flu vaccine is only about 32 percent effective, but it’s still important to get your flu shot and do everything you can to keep germs from spreading, like washing your hands, covering your sneezes and coughs, and staying at home when you’re sick.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.