As flu spreads in metro Detroit and nationwide, young visitors not as welcome in hospitals

Influenza cases are raging nationwide, federal authorities say 20 children have died from the flu and 7% of senior deaths last month are blamed on this year's virulent strain.

All of that prompted metro Detroit's Beaumont hospital chain to take an unusual step Friday afternoon: banning visits from children under 13 until the flu season subsides.

“We apologize for the inconvenience,” said a news release from Beaumont Health System, which operates eight major hospitals in southeast Michigan.

“All Beaumont Health hospitals are experiencing high volumes of patients with respiratory viral illnesses, predominantly influenza,” the release said.

“For the safety of our patients and staff, visitation by children under 13 years of age is limited to extraordinary circumstances, such as severe illness of a parent or sibling, or end-of-life situation.”

Even if children are not obviously sick, they shouldn't visit a hospital because they could be carriers of the influenza virus, said Dr. Christopher Carpenter, section head of infectious diseases at Royal Oak-Beaumont Hospital.

"You're coming into a place where people are already ill, and they could end up in worse shape if they also get the flu," Carpenter said. Children easily pass around the flu and other viruses at day-care centers and schools, causing kids to be a key "vector" for spreading the germs, he said.

A state health official said other hospitals were likely to follow suit. At metro Detroit's Henry Ford Health System, "we have one visitor restriction in place right now" — children 12 and under are forbidden to enter the intensive care unit for newborns, said Brenda Craig, media relations director for the Ford system, which operates six major hospitals in Michigan.

Michigan is one of 46 states with widespread infestations of influenza, although the state remains one notch down from being in the nation's highest prevalence category, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Symptoms of flu include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle aches, chills and fatigue; but a few patients may suffer vomiting and diarrhea, according to the CDC.

Patients with especially severe cases have been crowding emergency rooms almost nationwide — everywhere but Hawaii and Washington, D.C. — sometimes showing up with high fevers after becoming dehydrated by failing to consume enough liquids, according to the CDC’s website. In a word, the site says, people with a serious case of influenza "just feel miserable."

At the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services in Lansing, public heath experts are watching this year's flu season with extra concern, a spokeswoman said.

"People are going back to work and back to school after the holidays, and they're spreading these germs," said Lynn Sutfin, spokeswoman for the department. This year's main strain of influenza is called A(H3N2), "and it is one of the more severe forms," Sutfin said.

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"It's not too late to get your flu shot. We are really urging people to get the flu vaccine," Sutfin said. This year's flu vaccine is designed to protect against AH3, and athough some of those who received flu shots are still getting it, "but it's not as serious if they got the vaccine first," Sutfin said.

Yet an advisory this week from Harvard Medical School — published by the online Harvard Health Blog — said that this year's flu vaccine is only "about 32% effective" against this year's flu strains, while "most years, it's 40% to 60% effective." In confirmation, the CDC's website called this year's vaccine just "30% effective."

All of that means that not only should youngsters who might be carriers of the flu and other viruses stay out of hospital visiting areas this month. They should also keep their distance from older Americans, and from anyone else thought to have a weaker-than-normal immune system. According to health websites, that includes infants as well as pregnant women, those with chronic disease such as diabetes and lung disease, and patients on immuno-supressant drugs such as those with multiple sclerosis and HIV-AIDS.

At the Beaumont Health System, the new ban to keep out visiting youngsters under age 13 isn’t a first. But it’s the first time that all eight Beaumont hospitals have seen a flu outbreak severe enough to justify the temporary ban at the same time, hospital spokesman Mark Geary said.

When will it end?

"It will be in effect as long as our infectious diseases team thinks it is necessary," Geary said.

Contact Bill Laitner: blaitner@freepress.com

Three tips to ease flu symptoms

1. Drown your sorrow. As with colds, so goes it with influenza; drink plenty of liquids because even a hint of dehydration can spike a fever. Research is spotty on whether special tea or other drinks can help. But hot liquids of any kind can sooth irritated throat tissues. Avoid alcohol; it causes a net loss of hydration — because drinkers urinate more. It's especially important to drink more if you suffer vomiting or diarrhea.

2. Get steamed up. Sit in a bathroom with the shower running on hot. Close the door. Inhale. Feel better? You should. Then, adjust the temp and take a warm shower before getting back in bed. That routine can un-stuff a stuffy nose without the need for medicines with side effects. It can also temporarily ease, but not fix, the effect of ultra-dry air that afflicts houses and their occupants during the winter when a forced-air furnace lack an effective humidifier. Dry air leads to dry nostrils, an invitation for germs to invade.

3. Get thee to a doc. If your case seems severe, make an appointment pronto. Don't wait 'til you're even worse. No, antibiotic drugs don't work on influenza and other viruses. But yes, newer antiviral drugs — not available over the counter — can make a flu case milder and shorten the time you're sick. Studies show that antiviral drugs work best against the flu if started within two days of getting sick.

Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; WebMD online bulletin

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