Influenza hitting South Dakota early

By Jonathan Ellis, The Dakota Scout

South Dakota’s influenza season is in full tilt, with a surge in statewide cases coming earlier than historically reported by the Department of Health.

The question is: Has the worst of flu season passed or is a late-winter spike in influenza yet to come?

“I don’t know if we’ve peaked quite yet,” said Dr. Matthew Jahraus, an internal medicine hospitalist at Sanford Health, noting that new influenza cases have plateaued, giving him optimism that a downward trend is ahead.

“It’s still a little bit uncertain,” he said.

In three of the past four years – including this season – historic influenza peaks have come earlier than usual. Usually, cases peak in February, according to DOH data.

Dr. Chad Thury, a family medicine doctor at Avera Health, said the Avera system has seen an average flu season.

“Avera hospitalizations for flu-related illness are following the state’s reporting trends with a decline over the past two weeks,” Thury said. “We continue to see an upswing in total flu cases, with a 30 percent test positivity. Type A influenza is currently the dominant virus strain. The incidence of influenza is still high, much like we see in typical influenza years.”

South Dakota and North Dakota registered moderate caseloads of influenza through mid-January, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the CDC data tend to lag. Neighboring states of Minnesota and Nebraska had very high caseloads, while Iowa registered high caseloads.

“It is hard to predict when we will reach the peak of the influenza season, but February has been the most common month for the peak during the past 40 years,” said Department of Health spokeswoman Tia Kafka.

Since 2017, according to DOH data, an average of 37 South Dakotans a year have died from influenza.

Six people have died from influenza this season – including three in the past week – out of 9,691 positive infections. Those numbers were updated Jan. 29. There were also 482 people hospitalized.

Those numbers have kept the hospital census up at Sanford, Jahraus said. The hospital has seen high turnover with new admissions and discharges.

Jahraus said running at high capacity is not uncommon.

“We’re full a lot of days in terms of bed capacity,” he said.

Influenza A can be more focused on attacking an infected person’s respiratory system than Influenza B. The B-strain is sometimes more focused on the digestive system, Jahraus said.

He encourages people to get this season’s influenza vaccine to build tolerance to the virus. Those with underlying conditions, including heart disease and diabetes, should get tested early if they’re experiencing symptoms because anti-viral medications can be prescribed to diminish the severity of an infection.

Influenza isn’t the only respiratory virus in circulation. RSV and COVID-19 also are widespread. Twenty-nine deaths have been attributed to COVID this season.

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