Influenza activity on the rise
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[January 08, 2011]
As the holidays came to an end,
influenza activity began to increase across the United States for
this year’s flu season. Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, New York and
Virginia are experiencing high levels of flu, according to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other states are also
beginning to see an increase in flu activity, including Illinois.
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The Logan County Department of Public Health has confirmed a few flu
cases in the last couple of weeks. According to Mary Anderson,
communicable disease nurse with the health department, "local flu
activity remains low at this point, but is beginning to increase in
our area." Symptoms of the flu include fever, coughing, sore
throat, runny or stuffy nose, headaches, body aches, chills, and
fatigue.
Vaccination is the best protection against contracting the flu.
Everyone 6 months of age and older should get vaccinated against the
flu every year. The combined seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccine is
available at the Logan County Department of Public Health through
walk-in clinic hours Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. until 4 p.m.,
or on the HOPE Mobile during its regularly scheduled stops.
In addition to getting your flu vaccine, there are other simple
steps you can take to prevent the spread of flu:
your hands frequently with warm soap and water or an
alcohol-based hand gel.
COVER your cough or sneeze with a tissue or use your elbow,
not your hands.
CONTAIN your germs by staying home when sick until your fever
is gone without the use of fever-reducing medications.
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Give yourself and those around you the gift of health -- get
vaccinated against the flu virus today.
For further information on influenza, contact the Logan County
Department of Public Health at 217-735-2317 or
info@lcdph.org or
visit www.lcdph.org.
[Text from file received from
the
Logan County Department of Public
Health]
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