According to data compiled by the CDC, the flu season begins in the fall and peaks in February.
Seth Sullivan, MD, alternate health authority for the health department, told the Eagle it’s uncommon to see this number of flu cases this late in August, but added that the timing of the outbreak is logical in one sense — the influx of students on campus to begin the academic semester.
“That’s just kind of a perfect storm, if you will, with everybody coming back into campus and the close quarters, the housing arrangements either in dorms or fraternity houses or sorority houses,” said Dr. Sullivan. “We’ve seen this in years past where folks all kind of come back together from near and far, so to speak, and it being a ripe environment for transmission of virus to occur.”
If the number of cases continue to increase in coming weeks, it could indicate that the outbreak is not simply an isolated incident, but that flu season has come early this year, according to Dr. Sullivan.
More articles on infection control:
Low vaccination rates leave small schools in Ariz. vulnerable to measles
Bloodstream infections fiscally burdensome for pediatric ambulatory patients
Michigan health officials call on colleges to improve immunization efforts
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