Flu is ‘widespread’ in Indiana

It starts with a sore throat, then a cough and high fever, all without a known cause. Before getting treated, the influenza virus keeps students from class, work and extra-curricular activities.\nThe beginning of March is the height of flu season. For five consecutive weeks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that flu and flu-like illness is “widespread” in Indiana, according to the center’s Web site.\n“It says ‘widespread’ and actually that doesn’t mean it’s an outbreak,” said Shawn Richards, respiratory epidemiologist for the Indiana State Department of Health. “It just means more than half of the counties in Indiana have reported influenza,” Richards said.\nDespite the current activity of the flu, IU students are not catching the virus as much as previous years, said Nancy Macklin, director of nursing at the IU Health Center.\nMacklin said there have only been 136 cases of influenza-like illness reported this year at health center.\n“That’s very light for us,” she said. “We are really just seeing sporadic influenza.”\nBloomington Hospital has saw an increase in flu patients this season, but the increase was not substantial.\nIU student Elizabeth Shapiro said she had the flu two weeks ago and was unable to determine where she caught the virus.\n“I have no idea how I got it,” she said. “I didn’t know anyone who had it. I just all of a sudden started getting sick.”\nHealth officials say the likelihood of spreading the flu to classmates is significantly decreased if sick students stay home.\n“I went and suffered through classes, but I should not have actually gone,” Shapiro said.\nMacklin said to speed up recovery and get back to class, students should stay in bed in a quiet room until the fever goes down.