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..........The state agency is monitoring for instances of a flu stain that is circulating in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio to determine its severity, said Shawn Richards, a state respiratory epidemiologist.....

COLUMBUS, Ohio --

In the past week, hospitalizations for influenza have jumped 52 percent in Franklin County and the US Centers for Disease Control have pushed Ohio into the "widespread" category.

According to Columbus Public Health, 93 Franklin County residents have been hospitalized with the flu, 54 of them in just the past week, an increase of more than 50 percent.

Flu season begins mildly in Valley

Published: Mon, October 24, 2011 @ 12:05 a.m.
By William K. Alcorn

alcorn@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Little laboratory-confirmed influenza has surfaced in the Mahoning Valley early in the 2011-12 flu season, but a nonflu respiratory virus is making the rounds.

According to the Mahoning County District Board of Health, only one hospitalization for Influenza A and one positive test for that strain of flu from a doctor’s office have been confirmed this fall in Youngstown.

Hospital emergency- department surveillance shows a slight increase in respiratory complaints and school absenteeism.

Checks with hospitals in Salem, Youngstown and Warren, however, found the incidence generally light.

Several school districts in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, including Youngstown, Boardman, Joseph Badger and Mathews, reported no unusually high absenteeism among students or staff for this time of year.

But a dearth of the laboratory-confirmed flu doesn’t mean numbers of people aren’t showing up at hospital emergency rooms and doctor’s offices with flulike symptoms.

Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley in Boardman has treated a lot of children with flu-like symptoms, but those tested for influenza have come back negative, said Annamarie Sofran, hospital spokeswoman.

Salem Community Hospital’s laboratory has been processing tests for influenza, but so far none has tested positive.

The emergency department confirms, however, there is a respiratory infection bringing people to the hospital for treatment, said Michele Hoffmeister, hospital spokeswoman.

Boardman Schools Superintendent Frank Lazzeri and Karen Ingraham, spokeswoman for Youngstown City Schools, say their districts have experienced no spikes in student or staff absenteeism.

Likewise in Trumbull County, Joseph Badger School District in Kinsman and Mathews School District in Fowler and Vienna, reported no unusual absenteeism for this time of year.

Influenza is a highly infectious respiratory disease caused by certain strains of the influenza virus. Typical symptoms include fatigue, fever exceeding 100 degrees and chills, a hacking cough, and body aches. Influenza victims are also susceptible to potentially life-threatening secondary infections such as pneumonia.