Flu In Kane County: Increase In Hospital ER Visits

KANE COUNTY, IL — Between Jan. 26 and Feb. 1, the percentage of emergency room visits due to widespread flu increased across Kane County. According to the Kane County Health Department's Weekly Influenza Surveillance Summary released Friday, a reported 13.1 percent of hospital emergency room visits were for influenza-like illness in Kane County from Jan. 26 through Feb. 1. This is up from 10 percent (a 3.1 percent increase) during the previous week.

However, infants and young children up to 4 years old made up 20.8 percent of visits for flu-like illness to reporting emergency rooms, the health department said, adding that this percentage is down from 22.1 percent during the previous week.

County health officials said the influenza absenteeism rate for public schools in Kane County was 0.87 percent, however no public school was closed due the increased flu activity.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, during most seasons, about 80 percent of children who die are not vaccinated.

The agency cited a study that says the vaccine reduces the risk of death among healthy children by 65 percent and among children with a high-risk condition by 50 percent.

More from Patch:

• Kane Co. Health Officials Monitor Deadly Coronavirus
• Big Jump In Flu Cases In Illinois, Nationally
• America's Health Rankings 2019: Where Illinois Ranks

It takes about two weeks for the vaccine to provide protection against the flu. You can find more information about the flu vaccine and its benefits here.

You can use the CDC's flu vaccine finder to locate a pharmacy or clinic near you that provides the vaccine.

According to the CDC, symptoms of the flu include:

• Fever or feeling feverish/chills (although not everyone with flu will have a fever)
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Muscle or body aches
• Headaches
• Fatigue (tiredness)
• Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, although this is more common in children than adults.

More information and updates from this past week: kanehealth.com