Portland — This flu season is turning into one of the worst in Oregon to date.
It hit early and hard around Christmas and is still ongoing, with people flocking to emergency rooms, and outbreaks striking population centers from the coast to the Willamette Valley, Bend and the Dalles.
The elderly, as usual, have been hit the hardest. They account for about two-thirds of those hospitalized based on numbers collected in the Portland area.
Overall, those numbers are on track to set a record, said Dr. Ann Thomas, Oregon public health physician.
“The current year will have the most hospitalizations that we’ve ever seen,” Thomas said.
A strain of influenza A — H3N2 — is dominating this season, as it did in 2014-15. For some reason, that strain affects the elderly the most, Thomas said.
So far this season, 736 people have been hospitalized in Oregon with the flu. In comparison, 443 were hospitalized last season. Thomas expects the hospitalizations this season to surpass the 810 of 2014-15.
No children have died in the state, though the flu has killed five children across the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC and Oregon do not keep track of flu-related adult deaths because influenza often leads to death from other causes, such as pneumonia, congestive heart failure or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Flu is also often not listed on death certificates.
But Washington, which does count adult deaths, said last week 76 people had died this season from the flu, including 65 people aged 65 and older.
In Oregon, the number of outbreaks of three or more people is now at 86, surpassing the 81 in 2014-15. Thomas said all but two of the outbreaks this season were in long-term care facilities.
Public health officials say it’s still not too late to get vaccinated. The H3N2 strain is included in the vaccine. It takes two weeks for a shot to take effect. Health officials recommend that the elderly get a higher dose than the rest of the population.
It’s too soon to tell when this season will end. Thomas said Oregon may be hitting the peak right about now.
“You can never tell when the peak occurs until it’s steadily going down,” she said.
