In the midst of a global health pandemic, Alaska reports significantly fewer flu cases than any flu season in recent history.
Between October last year and late February 2021, less than 100 cases of influenza were confirmed throughout the state. Compiled data According to the Alaskan Department of Health and Human Services.
By this point last year for comparison — Relatively mild flu season — That number was close to 400. And the year before that was close to 1,200, said Carrie Edmonson, a state nurse epidemiologist who edits the state’s weekly magazine. “Influenza Snapshot” report.
Thirteen Alaskans died of the flu last season. So far this year, only two flu deaths have been recorded in Alaska, Edmonson said.
She and other local health experts said that one of the reasons for the unusually mild flu season was the virus mitigation efforts undertaken to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which also prevented the spread of the flu. I have.
They also believe that it is because of fewer flu tests and more people have been vaccinated against the flu this year. Powerful public messaging According to public health officials worried that a large outbreak of influenza, a life-threatening respiratory disease that shares many of the same characteristics as COVID-19, could further stress the state’s fragile health system.
Edmonson said he was surprised at how low the flu count was this year.
“But given the fact that we are in a COVID pandemic, the difference is that people are primarily untested for the flu itself. They are more focused on COVID,” she said. Said.
Last year, she explained that most healthcare providers are likely to send patients with flu-like symptoms to undergo a COVID-19 test.
“That doesn’t mean the flu isn’t outbreak, it’s just not being tested as usual,” she said.
Both influenza and COVID-19 are infectious respiratory diseases, Some important differences..
They are caused by a variety of viruses and have some symptoms that are unique to coronaviruses, such as loss of taste and odor. The coronavirus has also been found to be a superspreader than the flu and is far more deadly so far.
The last flu season in Alaska and across the country was mild. However, according to preliminary data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 740,000 people were still sent to hospitals nationwide, with 24,000 to 62,000 deaths.
In a year, the new coronavirus killed more than 500,000 people in the United States alone.
Victoria Miller, a nurse practitioner at Providence Express Care, said so far this year that no patient has tested positive for the flu, despite testing for the flu. ..
In contrast, “last year we saw a lot of (flu cases),” she said. “I was pretty much testing it, and I would see the whole family with it.”
The low number of influenza in Alaska is part of a broader trend. Report The federal government’s 25-year-old influenza monitoring system, run by the CDC, has shown that the United States is on track for the mildest influenza season in recorded history.
By this flu season, only 1,701 cases of influenza have been reported by laboratories nationwide, compared to the more than 225,000 cases recorded by this time last year.
The low flu count is a promising sign that what Alaska has done to prevent the spread of the coronavirus is working, Miller said. She said people want to keep up with some of these efforts, even after the threat of COVID-19 has diminished.
“As nurses, we have long told people to wash their hands,” she said. “So it’s great to see people really doing it.”