Flu season is upon us and this time it is no joke
It is that time of year again: sniffling noses, coughing classmates and desperately dry hands from all the scrubbing. It’s flu season. However, this year has been especially bad.
According to federal officials, the number of hospitalizations caused by the flu this year are reaching levels almost as high as the number of those seeking medical care during the swine flu in 2009.
The flu strain this year is known as H3N2 and is known to be more aggressive than other strains on influenza. So far, approximately 70 APU students have been diagnosed with the flu by the Student Health Center.
Dr. Todd Emerson, the Medical Director of the Azusa Pacific Student Health Center, explained why this year’s flu is so much worse than in previous years.
“The flu vaccine was a little less effective against this strain – about 25 percent effective. However, the vaccine is about 42 percent effective against the H1N1 strain and about 67 percent effective against the Influenza B strain,” Emerson said.
In an attempt to communicate with students during this especially severe flu season, the Student Health Center recently purchased a program that gives them the ability to communicate directly with students through text messages.
Last week, the Student Health Center sent out a series of texts reminding students about the importance of vaccinations. Some students got anywhere from three to eight identical messages.
Shantel Strickland, a junior sociology major, was one of the many students to receive these messages.
“I only received two, but I was with others who had at least eight. I think the way they chose to go about it was more annoying than helpful,” Strickland said. “Blowing up people’s phones just caused a lot of frustration and annoyance which took away from the fact that they were trying to be helpful.”
According to Emerson, this was simply a technical error with the new software that the Student Health Center is using.
This year, Strickland received the flu vaccination and has stayed sickness free. However, this was not the reality for everyone on campus this flu season.
Professor Phil Lollar is an adjunct professor for the cinematic arts and communication studies majors. This year, for the first time in 10 years, he contracted the flu.
“I did not get the flu shot this year. I normally do not. Big mistake,” Lollar said. “I caught the flu virus the last week of December, and it stayed until the second week of January, about three weeks.”
Symptoms of this year’s flu include fever, coughing and a sore throat, most often accompanied by severe aching, chills and headache.
“I felt like I had run top speed and slammed into a cinder block wall, and I have done that before, so I know how that feels,” Lollar said. “The aches were followed by a wracking cough, leading to decreased lung capacity and labored breathing.”
Emerson highly suggests that everyone receive the flu shot. Some other tips for avoiding the flu include keeping your hands washed and steering clear of people who are already sick.
“Even though the flu shot is not as effective as in previous years, it is still a good idea to get one,” Emerson said. “It definitely lowers the number of cases we have on campus, and since everyone lives in such close proximity, it can decrease the likelihood that cases will escalate out of control.”
There is good news in the midst of this sickness. College students are a low risk group for contracting the H3N2 virus. Also, according to new CDC reports, that the sickness may be beginning to plateau across the country.