Extra vigilance for a bad influenza season

Mon Jan 13 09:30:21 MST 2020

Colleagues, the CDC  is reporting that their most recent data (from the last week of December) shows "widespread" flu activity reported by health departments in 46 states. More ominously, the percentage of patients with flu symptoms visiting medical clinics is almost to the peak reached at the height of the 2017-18 flu season--the most severe in a decade.

One person I know has been diagnosed with flu despite being vaccinated at the UArizona Tucson campus this year. This is not due to the vaccine and clearly their pathogenic virus' immunotype is not the same as that of the vaccine's and/or the circulating influenza virus is so virulent that it has overwhelmed vaccinal immunity.

Regardless, not only can the flu be an annoying inconvenience making you feel bad, it can lead to very serious consequences. Please be extra vigilant for signs of the flu. If you believe you have flu symptoms, please visit your health professional immediately. Please do not come in to work until you know your symptoms are not due to the flu.

Please everyone take extra care with standard hygiene.

Best wishes,
Shane

Shane C. Burgess
Vice President for Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences, and Cooperative Extension
Charles-Sander Dean of the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences
Director, Arizona Experiment Station
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

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The University of Arizona is located statewide on the ancestral homelands of indigenous peoples.
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