(Spirit Lake)– Feeling under the weather? You’re not alone. Katy Carey of Dickinson County Public Health tells KUOO news they’re starting to see an uptick in respiratory viruses making the rounds…
“We are starting to see an uptick in influenza, so that’s coming from the Iowa Respiratory Virus Report that they send out weekly. Covid is low, influenza is high, and RSV is low. It’s kind of falling similar to trends to previous years.”
She says as of right now, influenza A is the most common strain of flu they’re seeing…
“With influenza A you see a lot of fever, chills, cough, sore throat, that runny, stuffy nose, body aches, headaches and just feeling run down, you know.”
Carey says there are several things you should do if you experience those symptoms…
“Stay home. So if you’re feeling unwell it’s a good time to slow down, take care of yourself. You want to rest and drink plenty of fluids. But if you’re seeing that uptick of more severe symptoms, the more you have kind of underlying conditions that you’re concerned about, it’s definitely a good idea to reach out to your medical provider.”
She adds it still isn’t too late to get a flu shot…
“We’re still doing those here at public health. They’re also available at pharmacies. And then just those common sense pieces of washing your hands and just managing your symptoms.”
Carey says flu and respiratory virus activity will likely increase even more following the holidays due to the fact people have been in close proximity with each other.
