Flu sweeps across Ventura County, sending many to emergency rooms

Jan. 04--Waves of flu are rolling through Ventura County, bringing record-breaking visits to a Simi Valley hospital emergency room and surging patient admissions at a Thousand Oaks hospital.

Across the county, flu appears to have contributed to at least five deaths, all reported since Christmas, according to public health officials. Four involved people 65 or older. The deaths are two more than the total of a flu season last year that ran into mid-May.

The spike has also hit elderly care facilities, with three nursing homes and one assisted-living facility reporting outbreaks to Ventura County Public Health.

Some pharmacies report difficulty in finding enough of the antiviral drug Tamiflu to meet the ballooning demand for prescriptions.

The flood appears to have reached many corners in the county, ranging from the Victoria Care Center nursing home in Ventura where five residents were diagnosed with flu to a pediatrics office in Thousand Oaks. There, Dr. Ken Saul said the stream of ailing, aching children he saw Tuesday likely constituted his busiest flu day in more than two decades.

Read more: Flu widespread in 36 states, CDC reports

"We are getting flu cases in people who didn't have the flu shot and people who had the flu shot," said Saul, asserting that the surge in cases comes from a below-average match between the vaccine and the season's dominant flu strain, the H3N2 influenza A virus.

"The flu shot didn't work this year or is hardly working," he said.

This year's vaccine could reduce a person's chances of obtaining the dominant flu strain by about 30 percent, according to projections from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Outside projections assess that effectiveness as low as 10 percent.

In a typical year, the vaccine decreases the chances of flu by 40 to 60 percent.

"Thirty-two percent is ultimately unacceptable. Researchers need to do a better job," said Dr. Robert Levin, Ventura County's public health officer.

Despite the apparently low efficacy this year, Levin and several other doctors urged people to get vaccinated.

"It can still help some people. Even if you get the flu, it can lessen the symptoms," said Dr. Andy Bourgeois, an emergency room doctor at Adventist Health Simi Valley, formerly known as Simi Valley Hospital.

Emergency room visits at the Simi facility began to surge in December, picking up more after Christmas. As many as a record-setting 149 people came to the ER in a day, compared to normal volumes closer to 100 patients daily.

At Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, emergency room visits related to flu symptoms have risen about 30 percent, said Dr. Carlo Reyes, adding the increase means longer waits for care.

"It's been just brutal in the ERs," said Reyes, noting that other hospitals have been impacted, as well.

More of the patients testing positive for the flu have needed to be admitted to the hospital than at any time in memory, said Reyes, assistant medical director for the emergency room at Los Robles. Some of the people suffer from breathing problems and need oxygen.

And while Reyes joined the chorus of people urging vaccinations, he noted that in some cases, the vaccine does not appear to be even lessening the wallop of the symptoms.

"They're getting severely sick as if they never had the vaccine," he said.

The severity could be linked to a H3N2 strain that is often linked with more deaths and hospitalizations for people ages 65 and older, as well as younger children.

Ventura County's problems are not unique. Public health officials said in December that flu activity is widespread across the state, with hospitalizations higher than normal. Public health agencies in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles counties have issued flu alerts.

Officials in San Diego County reported Wednesday that a 12-month-old baby died of the flu, one of 45 flu deaths so far this season in the area. That tally quadrupled in a week.

In Ventura County, flu-related problems included difficulty in getting new orders of Tamiflu. The prescription antiviral medication is used to treat flu symptoms.

"They're all back-ordered," said Ali Karandish of Stan's Drugs in Oxnard, noting that the pharmacy still has supplies in stock, with capsules being delivered to the store on a limited basis.

At Las Islas Urgent Care in Oxnard, Dr. Catarina Castaneda offered herself as proof that the vaccine may reduce the chances of severe flu symptoms. On New Year's Day, she was in bed covered with a fleece jacket and at least one blanket.

"I still felt cold," said Castaneda, who said she had a 100-degree fever. But her symptoms improved quickly and Castaneda credited the flu shot she received earlier in the year.

She returned to work Tuesday wearing a mask and spent Wednesday morning treating a steady stream of patients with flu-like symptoms.

Elsewhere, some observers predicted the season will likely get worse, perhaps growing as children return to school after the semester break. Ojai-area children returned to public schools on Wednesday and a school district official said there was no unusual rise in absences.

Levin said people can avoid airborne spread by staying three or four feet away from people with symptoms. Use of sanitizer and hand washing can help offer protection against keyboards, phones and other objects that may be contaminated.

"I think people need to be vigilant," he said. "On the other hand, I don't want to see people be afraid to live."

Bourgeois urged people with flu symptoms to stay home from work or school.

"The problem is people power through it and then spread it to all their co-workers," he said.

Elsewhere, people rattled off their symptoms and tried to assess their chances of avoiding the flu. Esmeralda Bolo, a licensed vocational nurse, noted that she had not developed a fever, although her throat was scratchy and her nose was runny.

She tried to protect co-workers at Las Islas Family Medical Group by wearing a surgical mask and using sanitizer. She was vaccinated and thinks it was a wise choice, even if she ends up with the flu.

"I just feel my odds are better," she said.

Escaping flu

* Get vaccinated.

* Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

* Stay home for at least 24 hours after a fever fades.

* Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.

* Toss tissue in the trash.

* Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.

* Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread this way.

* Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with germs like the flu.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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