Protect Your Health: Montana Faces Flu Outbreak With 16 Deaths

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - The Montana Department of Health and Human Services (DPHHS) has issued a clarion call to urge everyone to get vaccinated against influenza.

I spoke to Magdalena Scott, Superintendent of the Communicable Disease and Epidemiology section at DPHHS on Wednesday about the flu in Montana.

DPHHS Asks Everyone to Be Vaccinated During Influenza Season

“Unfortunately, we are seeing widespread influenza activity right now,” began Scott. “We have seen big increases in the number of flu cases reported the past couple of weeks. So we want to make sure that Montanans are keeping themselves healthy and trying to protect themselves against this respiratory illness as best they can.”

There have been over 5,700 cases of flu reported in Montana so far this season. Scott provided more flu stats.

So Far There Have Been 300 Hospitalized and 16 Deaths from the Flu

“We have seen cases of flu reported in nearly every county in our state,” she said. “We've also had over 300 people hospitalized so far this flu season, and unfortunately, 16 people have died in the last couple of months as well. We do have several outbreaks that are going on right now in places like nursing homes and long term care facilities, but also our schools and daycares too.”

Scott described the now familiar flu symptoms to watch for.

“Symptoms include a fever, cough, sore throat and a runny nose,” she said. “A lot of folks experience body aches or low energy as well. If you are experiencing those symptoms, stay at home so that you don't spread that illness to other folks and make sure you're good about washing your hands, even something as simple as that can help prevent this illness from spreading to others.���

The Flu Vaccine is Recommended for Everyone Six Months and Older

Michelle Evans is the DPPHS Superintendent of Immunization Section Supervisor, who had more specifics on the influenza vaccine.

“Flu vaccination is recommended for everybody six months and older,” began Evans. “What the take home that we that we have, we certainly talk about our vulnerable populations, and that is such an important component of the protection that we're seeking to gain with vaccination for influenza annually, but healthy children and adults still can experience severe disease, so keeping that in mind and seeing the importance of both protecting ourselves, our families and certainly those around us that might be more vulnerable is certainly very important in our communities.”

Also on the call was Devon Cosart, MPH Zoonotic Illness and Vector-borne Disease Epidemiologist, who addressed the Avian Influenza A, also known as HPAI or Avian Flu.

All the DPHHS officials on the KGVO news call highly recommend that everyone in your family get vaccinated against the flu.

Access the DPHHS Influenza Dashboard here.