SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — If you’ve gotten sick this winter or know someone who’s ill, you’re not alone.
So far this year in California and the Bay Area, there’s been a spike in the number of people being hospitalized for the flu.
According to the CDC, flu activity has been steadily climbing across the country since last fall. In California, influenza infections are now believed to be widespread. People KRON4 talked to on Monday agree that something is going around.
Dr. Lisa Winston is an epidemiologist at San Francisco General Hospital and a professor at UCSF. She says the flu has hit the Bay Area hard.
“We have had more hospitalizations this year than we have had in past years,” Winston said.
While it might seem like the wet and cold weather is making people sick, Dr. Winston suspects the real reason is that the type of flu spreading around this year is a particularly nasty strain knowm as Influenza A.
“In a year when that strain circulates, we tend to have a severe flu season and to see more hospitalizations,” Winston said.
Most years, flu activity tapers off by summer time but that’s still months away. Dr. Winston says that even though the flu is now widespread the best way to avoid getting sick is to be vaccinated.
She also recommends some common sense steps to keep the flu from spreading such as staying home from work or school if you’re sick and washing your hands frequently.