by Hena Hussain ‘20

Every winter, a new strain of influenza, or “the flu”, makes an appearance. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this year’s flu season has become “one of the biggest health threats” the American public is facing.

So far, 49 states have reported widespread flu activity. As of February 2, overall hospitalizations of Americans with the flu is higher than it has ever been, and the number of deaths is especially high as well, with the number of pediatric deaths currently at 84.

“This season is turning out to be a particularly challenging one. And it has been compounded by lots of flu occurring nationwide simultaneously over several weeks,” said Dr. Dan Jernigan, Director of the Influenza Division in the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “This is an unusual pattern for [the] flu in the U.S.”

While very young children and the elderly are those with the highest risk of contracting the flu, healthy, young people are at risk as well. Students and teachers across the county, including at Sherwood, have missed school as a result of becoming sick.

“The flu season was worse this year,” said Sherwood school nurse Jennifer Jones. However, Jones also observed that there was not an extreme number of flu cases at school and says she has “not seen a large number at Sherwood.”

Fortunately, there are several ways to lower one’s chances of catching the flu. For example, it is recommended by the CDC that you wash your hands on a regular basis, stay home from work or school if you show symptoms, and be vaccinated at the beginning of each winter season.

MCPS monitors flu cases by working with the Health Department through a program called the Children’s Health Alert Network (CHAN). This surveillance system is used throughout Maryland, allowing the state to look for trends in student illness. If trends are found in a particular school, the school can be contacted in order for the state to find out about symptoms experienced by students and develop a better understanding of the health of MCPS students. Every school in Maryland, including Sherwood, enters data every day on the health of its students.

MCPS has also taken steps to combat this nasty virus by setting up flu clinics available to all MCPS students at Kennedy, Northwest, and Richard Montgomery. This is in addition to flu clinics that are set up for staff every fall to increase access to vaccinations.

“Everyone should get a flu shot, even if they are not as effective this year because they help the immune system fight off the flu,” said Jones of the MCPS flu clinics.

The flu, while a fairly common illness that most are familiar with, poses a very serious health threat this year to the American public. Doing your best to stay as healthy as possible and not spread illness is essential this flu season.