We seem to have already hit the worst of this year’s influenza season, as data shows that the peak in cases came at the end of last year, according to officials.
“We started the season a bit early. We peaked really early. And now it does seem to be fading, which is great,” MDH Senior Epidemiologist Melissa McMahon said. “But while we were seeing the height of our activity, there was quite a lot of it.”
McMahon noted that most of the cases seen when the virus peaked were in young children.
According to department statistics, the number of influenza outbreaks in Minnesota schools peaked in early November at 240.
Since then, it has fallen off dramatically, and while McMahon says the threat of widespread illness is minimal, she says it’s still important to protect yourself with frequent hand-washing and staying home if you’re sick.
“We can see the edge of the tree line. With the flu in the winter, I don’t know that we’re ever entirely out of the woods,” McMahon said.
Related
Related
