Medical facilities around Missoula are reporting an uptick in flu cases as a surge of influenza and other respiratory illnesses is being reported across the entire country.
Local health workers are seeing more people than usual this time of year hospitalized for influenza illness, Missoula Public Health Department Infectious Disease Specialist Pam Whitney said.
Megan Parker, a nurse at Missoula Public Health, prepares a syringe containing the flu vaccine for a walk-in patient at the Missoula City-County Health Department on Tuesday, Jan. 9. Missoula medical facilities are reporting an uptick in flu cases as a surge of influenza and other respiratory illnesses is being reported across the country.
“This was an early onset of flu for us,” Whitney said on Monday. February is typically when health workers see a spike in flu cases, she explained, as opposed to early January.
At Partnership Health Center, from the week of Dec. 17 to Dec. 23, the facility saw 48 confirmed cases and two hospitalizations, according to Whitney. From Dec. 24 to Dec. 30, PHC had 36 confirmed cases, but hospitalizations spiked to eight people. In the first week of 2024, PHC recorded 35 cases and seven hospitalizations.
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“For me, those are huge numbers,” Whitney said.
People hospitalized had comorbidities, were older in age and/or didn’t receive a flu vaccine, she added.
At Providence St. Patrick Hospital, 25 patients positive for influenza were admitted for supportive care in December 2023, about half of the number St. Pat’s recorded for December 2022. In the first week of January 2024, the hospital reported seeing an increase in admissions, with roughly five to 10 flu patients per day, according to Tammy Powers, senior manager in infection prevention.
The Missoula Public Health Department is running immunization clinics every week, Monday through Friday, with walk-ins for COVID-19, flu and other shots available Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Wednesdays by appointment only.
COVID-19 admissions were similar, with about five to 10 patients a day, according to Powers. A few people are also coming in with RSV, a respiratory virus that affects the lungs and breathing abilities. JoAnn Hoven, communications manager for St. Pat’s, said it’s typical for respiratory virus infection admissions to increase after the holidays.
Whitney and St. Pat’s officials recommended Missoulians get vaccinated as a preventive measure against the viruses. Masking, hand washing and general hygiene (covering coughs) and staying home while sick are also ways to mitigate the spread of viruses.
“That vaccine really does keep you out of the hospital,” Whitney said.
The Missoula Public Health Department is still running immunization clinics every week, Monday through Friday. Walk-ins for COVID-19, flu and other shots are available Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays are for appointments only. Local pharmacies, including CVS and Walgreens, are also offering vaccine appointments (which can be booked online).
Respiratory illness cases are up nationwide, NPR reported last week, with the flu and RSV being big drivers of those numbers.
“The amount of respiratory illness (fever plus cough or sore throat) causing people to seek health care is elevated or increasing across most areas of the country,” the Centers for Disease Control website stated. “This week, 39 jurisdictions experienced high or very high activity.”
Montana was in the "high" category for respiratory illness levels, according to CDC data.
Emergency room visits are up for flu and COVID-19 cases as well, for all ages except school-aged kids, the CDC reported.
Zoë Buchli is the criminal justice reporter for the Missoulian.
