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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us October 13, 2005 Flu lurks just ahead By Alan Panebaker Tidings Correspondent Nurse Grace Walker , left, takes Melinda Baumer’s temperature at the Southern Oregon University Health Center on Wednesday. Orville Hector | Ashland Daily Tidings With the first case of influenza reported in Oregon on Monday, Ashland is still flu-free according to local health-care providers, despite viral and respiratory illnesses being passed around. “We haven’t seen any flu cases, but there does seem to be a lot of viral stuff going around,” said Viki Brown, Jackson County’s division manager for public health. “We’re hearing people talk about it.” Brown said, however, that her department does not keep track of reports of influenza because it is not a “reportable illness.” Reportable illnesses include hepatitis, whooping cough and botulism. Erin Coke, an expert in infection control at Ashland Community Hospital, said she hasn’t seen many patients with the flu quite yet. “Usually, November starts the flu season with the colder weather coming in,” Coke said. “They show that sometimes it even peaks in February.” The flu patients who generally come into ACH usually head straight to the emergency room, Coke said, and “there’s not a lot to be done for them.” The only influenza cases that make the record books at Ashland Community are those that turn into pneumonia. Dr. Laura Robin, medical director at Southern Oregon University’s Health and Wellness Center, said her college patients have been dragging in more symptoms of strep throat and mononucleosis from the dorms than any flu-like symptoms. “It’s still very early to be getting into flu season,” Robin said. She said there was one case last week that might have been influenza, but it turned out to be a viral or bacterial infection. The Health and Wellness Center is starting to monitor possible cases of the flu already, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention starts reporting cases Friday. Even the elementary and middle schools have been relatively healthy after last week’s colder snap. Belinda Brown, a school nurse, said she has not seen any more students than usual skipping school because of illness. Last week 26 kids were out sick from Ashland Middle School, and nine of those missed two days. Seven hundred fourteen students attend the middle school every day. “Some of the respiratory stuff that’s going around tends to stick around longer than normal,” Brown said, “but we haven’t been seeing a lot of people missing school because of it.” Brown said she usually does not get too worried until children start missing consecutive days of school. She thinks local kids stay healthier because of classroom and one-on-one education about the importance of handwashing and keeping healthy. The one case of influenza that has been reported by the Oregon Department of Human Services occurred in Western Oregon, and according to a press release by the department, the woman with the flu had apparently been visiting California and contracted the flu there. The press release said no cases have been reported in Washington, and in California, cases have been sporadic. And as far as flu shots go, they are still only available to high-risk people until Oct. 24. For more information on shots, call the local flu shot hotline at 774-8165. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams