How is the Flu doing? Are Lockdowns impacting it?

[Fletch Lives]

How is the Flu doing? Are Lockdowns impacting it?

I'd like to know how the flu is doing the last few months with all the lockdowns - is it having any effect on it?

I tried to search but all I get is covid news. Anybody know? Can you post link to a curve?

Edited May 7, 2020 by Fletch Lives

[elaine567]

Flu season is essentially over for this year.
Peak activity usually between December and February.

[SumGuy]

I'd imagine that all infectious diseases are down since they require human-human contact.   Suspect new STDs cases are down to. 

 

[Ellener]

2 hours ago, SumGuy said:

I'd imagine that all infectious diseases are down since they require human-human contact.   Suspect new STDs cases are down to. 

 

 

2 hours ago, SumGuy said:

I'd imagine that all infectious diseases are down since they require human-human contact.   Suspect new STDs cases are down to. 

 

Now there was a link about some of that on the BBC...

 

[Ellener]

Here it is, an encouragement for STD testing and for the protective-awareness of contagion during the pandemic to continue https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-52488892

If only people had reacted to HIV as they did to Covid a lot of lives would have been saved/changed...

@Fletch Lives if people stay home when they have flu, wash their hands and don't sneeze or cough on each other I'm sure 'flu seasons will have less infections.

[Els]

Will definitely decrease, since it transmits via mostly the same mechanisms as Covid.

[sothereiwas]

Once more into the breach - historical and current flu season victim data: https://www.statista.com/chart/20704/us-flu-seasons-percent-of-samples-tested-positive/

[Els]

The flu season in the northern hemisphere I imagine would have been unaffected by Covid since Covid related precautions would only have started in most countries after the peak of the season. In the southern hemisphere where it is only just starting, there will almost certainly be a difference I think.

[Eternal Sunshine]

In Australia:

Early-season flu is at record lows in Australia thanks to improved hygiene and social distancing, says a leading public health advocate who wants these practices to continue after COVID-19 dissipates.

The latest report by the Department of Health-backed Australian FluTracking Team shows just 0.2 per cent of nearly 75,000 participants in its online survey last week had influenza-like illness.

That compares with a five-year average above 1.5 per cent for the same time of year.

 

[basil67]

Yes, great outcome on our flu season.  I hope the things we take away from all of this is a) learning to wear masks when we're sick and b) not going to work when we are sick

Edited May 8, 2020 by basil67

[Fletch Lives]

14 hours ago, Eternal Sunshine said:

In Australia:

Early-season flu is at record lows in Australia thanks to improved hygiene and social distancing, says a leading public health advocate who wants these practices to continue after COVID-19 dissipates.

The latest report by the Department of Health-backed Australian FluTracking Team shows just 0.2 per cent of nearly 75,000 participants in its online survey last week had influenza-like illness.

That compares with a five-year average above 1.5 per cent for the same time of year.

 

Thanks to all of you, and thanks Eternal. 

It sounds good that the flu is down and viruses could be kept at low rates with social distancing and masks.

But some doctors may argue that if people are exposed to less, their immune system can become weak? 

[sothereiwas]

11 minutes ago, Fletch Lives said:

But some doctors may argue that if people are exposed to less, their immune system can become weak? 

I'm not sure that's how it works. Does exposure to X strengthen the response to Y? I dunno. A lot of people seem to think so but what does science say?

[Piddy]

My wife and I got our flu shot last November.  Didn't get the flu.   Luckily the strains they put in the vaccine seem to work for us anyway.  Anecdotal I realize.  🙂

[Ellener]

17 hours ago, basil67 said:

Yes, great outcome on our flu season.  I hope the things we take away from all of this is a) learning to wear masks when we're sick and b) not going to work when we are sick

and hand-washing! I hope there's going to be way less food-poisoning and noro-virus infections now.

[mrs rubble]

I actually asked my boss last week how the flu numbers were in our lab, he said there is none, however there has been an increase in gono numbers recently, they must be keeping it in the family!!

[SumGuy]

7 hours ago, Fletch Lives said:

But some doctors may argue that if people are exposed to less, their immune system can become weak? 

It depends on the virus.  Some you develop life long immunity to once you have it, some only temporary or partial, some never (like the common cold).

Also recall viruses just love to mutate, hence why COVID-19 is novel, it's genetically brand new, no one had immunity, no test existed for it.   

This is why for decades, I first recall hearing it and reading a book on it in the 1980's, scientists have been warning us it is only a matter of time before a virus mutates into one that leads to a global pandemic.   We have just been dodging bullets with SARS and others. 

None of this is new by the way, its just with our population densities and an infected person can get on a plane and be half way around the world in a day, which makes it very easy for viruses that once mutated and died out in the local village to be all over the world in a matter of days.

[preraph]

Flu season is over, but all the precautions we've taken for covid-19 if we have to do it again this winter should reduce the flu as well. If they can get people to take precautions again. Around Dallas hardly anyone's being careful anymore. And our numbers are soaring. 

Edited May 9, 2020 by preraph

[sothereiwas]

11 minutes ago, preraph said:

our numbers are soaring. 

Which numbers though? 

Covidtracking is a website that follows trends from Johns Hopkins datasets. They are showing a huge down trend in DAILY PERCENTAGE of positive tests. Given that the volume of testing is trending up, that's probably one of the better metrics if one wants to see a trend in infection rate. 

[schlumpy]

12 hours ago, preraph said:

Flu season is over, but all the precautions we've taken for covid-19 if we have to do it again this winter should reduce the flu as well. If they can get people to take precautions again. Around Dallas hardly anyone's being careful anymore. And our numbers are soaring. 

I concur PreRaph. I am seeing at best thirty percent compliance in my area although I haven't heard anything about a surge or decline in cases. The hot spots for Ohio were Toledo and Cleveland. Probably because of I90 running through northern Ohio and bringing in the infected from the EAST.

[Ellener]

1 hour ago, schlumpy said:

I haven't heard anything about a surge or decline in cases.

in any major outbreak the numbers 'bounce' as the pandemic subsides, the general trend is down but numbers go up and down on a daily or weekly basis.

 

[preraph]

Our cases are still surging in Dallas and some of it is due to more testing, but not all of it because deaths were up yesterday as well. We're up from 3 weeks ago. And I think unless the weather kills it we will see another surge in a couple of weeks from people going completely lacks on PPE in the past week. 

[sothereiwas]

18 minutes ago, preraph said:

deaths were up yesterday as well

It should be noted that death trends follow infections by a pretty decent delta, probably 2-3 weeks. Deaths going up probably means infection rate was up 2-3 weeks ago, not necessarily today. 

[CaliforniaGirl]

On 5/8/2020 at 8:09 AM, Piddy said:

My wife and I got our flu shot last November.  Didn't get the flu.   Luckily the strains they put in the vaccine seem to work for us anyway.  Anecdotal I realize.  🙂

Weirdly, I got my flu shot but did get the flu in Feb...but now suspect it may have been CV-19.

[Piddy]

22 minutes ago, CaliforniaGirl said:

Weirdly, I got my flu shot but did get the flu in Feb...but now suspect it may have been CV-19.

A couple of years ago or so we didn't get the flu shot and both of us got the flu in November and the following March.  The March strain was awful.  Yeah, you might have gotten it (Covid-19).  Can't you get the anti bodies test and see if you have them?  Then you'll know.  If so, your blood may be helpful to someone else.

[CaliforniaGirl]

17 minutes ago, Piddy said:

A couple of years ago or so we didn't get the flu shot and both of us got the flu in November and the following March.  The March strain was awful.  Yeah, you might have gotten it (Covid-19).  Can't you get the anti bodies test and see if you have them?  Then you'll know.  If so, your blood may be helpful to someone else.

I don't know. How would I get the antibodies test?

I honestly never remember being that sick in my life. I went to the doctor but had been considering the hospital. At one point I couldn't get up (stand up) for two days. I would black out. I coughed so hard and continuously that I couldn't catch my breath. Fever for a week and a half. Then I slept for a week. Like 18, 20 hours of sleep a day. My cough lasted two months. In the middle of all this my doctor was going to hospitalize me but took an xray first, didn't see pneumonia so told me to just go home and give it another week. WTF...literally nothing worked on the cough, not even codeine cough stuff. At one point lying there trying to breathe on my couch I randomly wondered, Is this the night I'm going to die? I didn't even care anymore at that point. (Or, not that I didn't care but I felt like..okay, if this happens, I can't stop it, I can't fight it and it will only hurt worse to fight it.) My husband and kids were really scared. But I made it through. 

FWIW I'm in my early 50s, not quite at that age cutoff danger zone but getting there.

The weird thing is, two weeks earlier my husband and kids all got sick. My husband: mildly. Kids: coughs, the beginnings were separated by a whole week which I thought was so odd and for both of them, they SLEPT. Like, two days, almost the full day, then still very tired for a full days. But then two weeks passed so I thought I was just not going to get sick. But I did, except about a jillion times worse than anyone else in my famiky.

You guys, I was scared. I have never literally wondered if I was going to die before. I actually wondered that and I had this vague feeling that nothing was going to stop it, I can't describe it, I'm crying, remembering this. It was so scary.

I do recall that when I went to the doctor he asked whether I had been to China recently and if not, whether I had been out of the country at all. Looking back I think it's weird that she I said no and he didn't see imminent death in my xray 😅 that he just...literally sent me home.

Now it.all just gives me chills.

Edited May 12, 2020 by CaliforniaGirl