The influenza season is just underway and Washtenaw County has already seen its first hospitalized case of the illness.

A nurse prepares a dose of the H1N1 influenza vaccination.

The official start date for flu monitoring for the 2014-2015 season was Sept. 28, and Washtenaw County Public Health reports that one person has been diagnosed with an influenza B strain and was hospitalized Sept. 29. This remains the first and only confirmed diagnosis of the disease in the region since the season began.

Last year's first flu case in the area was not confirmed until the second week of November.

Public Health spokeswoman Susan Cerniglia said the patient who was hospitalized has fully recovered.

In the annual effort to halt the spread of the illness, flu shots are being offered by health care providers across the county and by Washtenaw County Public Health at its clinics. This year’s version of the vaccine will attempt to combat the H1N1 flu as well as two or three other strains, depending on which vaccination is received.

“At this point the season is still fairly unpredictable,” Cerniglia said.

“We don’t have a way of knowing if it’s going to be severe, or exactly what strains will be circulating. We do know that the flu will get here and that the vaccine can do a lot to prevent the disease and prevent hospitalization.”

Like all vaccines, flu shots are not 100 percent effective, but Cerniglia said that those who have been vaccinated against the virus are more likely to have a mild case if they do contract the disease.

Last year, Washtenaw County led the state of Michigan in flu vaccination rates for children between six months and 17 years old. The coverage for 6-month-olds to 4-year-olds was 70 percent, and Cerniglia said that was a primary reason no children between 1 and 4 were hospitalized with the disease.

“That’s great news for us because normally you think of children as an age group more likely to be vulnerable to the disease,” Cerniglia said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recent studies suggest that the nasal spray flu vaccine could be more effective than traditional shots for children between the ages of 2 and 8 years old.

Not every child can receive the nasal spray vaccine—children taking certain medications or with egg allergies should not receive the spray—and the alternative to the needle in the arm is not always readily available. Parents are not recommended to delay vaccination in order for their child to receive a nasal vaccination over a traditional shot.

According to Washtenaw County Public Health, the 2013-14 flu season was dominated by the H1N1 strain of the virus, which doctors believe could make a return this year.

“It’s a strain that tends to have a greater affect on younger and healthier adults,” Cerniglia said. “It is included again in this year’s flu shot and it’s important that people take the time to get vaccinated.”

With the exception of the 2011-12 flu season, which was exceptionally mild, Washtenaw County has seen more than 100 hospitalizations from the flu every year since 2010. The 2012-13 season was the most severe in the last five years, with 199 hospitalizations, many of them over the age of 65.

Cerniglia said that having the first case this early in the year is somewhat unusual, but it is not necessarily a predictor of an overly widespread or severe flu season.

Find information on Washtenaw County flu clinics on ewashtenaw.org.

Editor's note: This article was edited to clarify that this is the first confirmed influenza case in Washtenaw County this year.

Ben Freed is a general assignments reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Email him at benfreed@mlive.com and follow him on twitter at @BFreedinA2. He also answers the phone at 734-623-2528.