Vaccine available to help fight flu

January 24, 2013, 9:00 pm by Adam Troxtell

With the flu season in full swing, local health authorities say the Hill Country has not remained untouched by an epidemic that has swept the nation, but vaccines are readily available.

"We have seen more flu this year compared to last year,” said Randall Grimshaw, M.D., chief medical officer of Scott & White Hospital-Llano. He said there had also been a larger than normal occurrence of non-flu upper respiratory infections.

Dr. Erica Hughes, M.D. pulmonologist with Seton Highland Lakes Specialty Clinic, said her office has also seen increased cases of the virus during the flu season, which begins in October and runs through March.

"The flu is a viral infection that is spread through coughing and contact with secretion,” Hughes said. "Its symptoms include fever, chills, muscle aches and soreness, headaches, and in some cases diarrhea.”

Grimshaw said the United States is currently experiencing an epidemic of the flu, the cause of which is two pronged.

"When you have en epidemic, the fact that there are so many with the illness means it spreads to others more easily,” Grimshaw said. "The second reason it is particularly bad this year is the people that create the immunization do their best to guess what the virus is going to be. The variety of vaccine this year may not be as accurate."

For the full story, see Friday's Highlander.