Flu cases are rising in Central Oregon, and health care officials fear area hospitals will become overrun with sick people.

Three times as many emergency room visits for flu symptoms were recorded in the week ending Nov. 19 in Deschutes County, compared to the week before, when there were nine patients, according to data from Deschutes County Health Services. The rise comes as other viruses are circulating in the community: COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus, a virus that hits very young children that’s often called RSV.

“Influenza numbers are rising rapidly,” said Dr. Cynthia Maree, St. Charles Health System infectious disease medical director. “Our hospitals are already strained. We’re seeing the number of visits going up to the emergency department and urgent care.”

In Central Oregon, this level of flu is normally seen later in the flu season, which runs from October to May, Maree said. Positivity rates like this are typically seen in the community in January, she said. No one knows if the trend will continue to rise or if it will spike and then decline, Maree said.

“This is a couple months ahead of where we normally see this kind of flu activity,” she said. “It’s at a high rate like we saw (before the pandemic).”

For the past two years flu levels were low, due in part to government mask mandates and physical distancing requirements. Now as flu increases in the community, immune systems will be challenged to fight off the flu, said Rita Bacho, Deschutes County Health Services communicable disease manager.

“Our immune systems have not been challenged for two years because we were protected by COVID-19 precautions,” Bacho said. “Now those precautions are removed.”

The flu positivity rate was 19% in Central Oregon during the most current period data are available, Nov. 13-19, according to the data in the Central Oregon Weekly Flu Report.

Across Oregon, the current positivity rate was 16.3% .

Much of the country is gripped by high rates of flu as well, with just a few states still experiencing low or minimal flu levels, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention weekly data. Nationwide, 18.2% of the flu tests given were positive, according to the county flu report.

In 2017, during the same period, Nov. 13-19, the flu positivity rate was 16%, and in 2018 it was 3% during the same period, according to the data.

Because of growing concern for strained hospitals, Gov. Kate Brown issued a state of emergency on Nov. 14 because of the rise of the respiratory syncytial virus cases in children under age 2. Since then the number of cases has leveled off, Maree said.

The concern is that as more disease circulates in the community, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems may become infected and require hospitalization. Some people may get sick from multiple viruses at the same time, she said. That kind of co-infection, as it’s called, can cause more severe illness and may require hospitalization.

“It could become a perfect storm of having viruses affecting all ages of the spectrum,” Maree said. “Influenza vaccines are very effective. The recommendation is to get vaccinated and wear a mask in public and stay home if you are sick.”

At Mosaic Medical, which has 12 clinics around the county, there have been many more calls about sick children, said Julie Whalen, a nurse practitioner at Mosaic Medical. Compounding her concern is a lower than normal level of vaccination rates this year compared to years past. And with family gatherings occurring last week, she’s anticipating that COVID-19 cases may increase.

“Right now we haven’t seen a lot of COVID-19,” Whalen said. “But that doesn’t mean we won’t see an uptick. I’d be surprised, if we don’t see an uptick.”

Influenza causes severe illness in everyone, particularly the elderly and young children. Health care professionals recommend:

• Get the flu vaccination.
• Wear a mask indoors in public places during flu season.
• Ask others to wear a mask around children under 2.
• Wash hands frequently and thoroughly.
• Stay home if you’re sick. 

Source: Oregon Health Authority