Healthbeat: What's Going Around

Old man winter may still have some life in him, but South Dakota's flu season is rapidly dwindling. State health officials say just five new cases of influenza were reported in the past week and all five were influenza B. 


All tolled, more than 350 people have been hospitalized this flu season.

There's good and bad news in the latest flu numbers from the South Dakota Department of Health. The good news is that the worst of the season is probably behinds us. The bad news is that another South Dakotan has died. 


According to the numbers, it appears as though the state's flu season peaked at the end of February.

South Dakota's flu season may have gotten off to a slow start, but it's making up for lost time. For the third week in a row, South Dakota's flu activity is being reported as widespread. But because the flu isn't the only bug circulating across KELOLAND, if you get sick, it can sometimes be difficult to determine exactly which bug you have. 


Some school have called off classes and sent students home.

The numbers just keep climbing, and South Dakota is now reporting its first flu death of the season. 


South Dakota's Department of Health confirms the state's first victim of this year's flu season is a Yankton County resident in his or her 90s. The state's influenza activity is listed as widespread for the second week in a row. 



None of this comes as much consolation after officials with the Centers for Disease Control confirmed that this year's flu shot is not a good match for the strains of flu circulating through KELOLAND.

We've all heard that old saying that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." And that was never more true than right now.


That's because right now almost anything that's going around KELOLAND these days is something you want to avoid. 



Among the most common illnesses area doctors are reporting are Influenza A & B, strep throat and a nasty stomach virus which can lay people up for up to a few days.

If you've ever been silenced by laryngitis, you know how frustrating it can be to suddenly be without your voice. 


When many of us lose our voice we say we "have a frog in our throat." The phrase actually comes from medieval doctors who believed the secretions of a frog could cure a cough if they were coated on the throat of a patient.

Influenza is showing up in communities across KELOLAND. South Dakota's flu season may have started slowly, but it's rapidly taking hold. 


At this point, both influenza A and B cases are being reported in Minnehaha, Brown, and Pennington counties. In addition, influenza A is also making the rounds in Davison, Lawrence, Custer and Brule counties.

If you've noticed a little more coughing, sniffing and grumbling around you lately, no one has to tell you this year's flu season is picking up steam. And while this year's season was off to a slow start, experts say the worst of it is yet to come. 


If you've been ignoring those signs you see so often this time of year to clean your hands or cover your cough, I've got some smart advice for you.

It's the time of year when doctors' around the country see more tiny patients with the symptoms of RSV - a potentially serious respiratory infection.

Allergies can spring up during the holidays and the culprit can be right in your living room. That's right, we're talking about your Christmas tree, and it doesn't matter if it's real or plastic.

The American Lung Association estimates most children catch 6 - 8 colds a year. Most adults suffer through just 2 to four. Scientists say the simple fact of the matter is that cold and flu viruses like the cold and they hang around longest when conditions are cold and dry. And scientists say discovering that puts them a step closer to a cure for the common cold. 


Karen Mastovsky is a busy mother of three who doesn't have time for her kids to get sick.

Somewhere between five to 20 percent of us will find ourselves fighting the flu this year. And the older you are, the better your odds for encountering serious complications from the virus, which is why a flu shot is your best protection and now is the time to get one. 


Despite the five thousand or so people who are expected to roll up their sleeves Tuesday at our flu shot clinic, there are some people who won't heed this advice and head into flu season unprotected.

Our KELOLAND-TV/Lewis Drug Flu Shot Clinic gets underway Tuesday.  It's the most convenient way to roll up your sleeve and get a shot in time to protect you against this year's flu bug. And a couple of familiar faces are already doing just that to help raise awareness. 


So far there's been no measurable flu activity in South Dakota yet, which is why right now is the perfect time to get a flu shot. 



The flu shot is made up of three inactive flu viruses--two influenza A strains and one Influenza B strain-- that have been forecasted to circulate this year.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says only a fraction of the people who need flu shots the most are actually getting them. That includes just one in five babies, and health officials are hoping to boost the numbers with a record vaccine supply. 


Each year, the government recommends that more than 200 million people get a flu shot.

If the mere mention of getting a flu shot has your child running in the other direction, we've got some good news for you. Now there’s some new guidelines for kids. 


Those new guidelines involve FluMist, the nasal spray vaccine. According to a federal advisory panel, it's now safe for kids as young as two.

So far KELOLAND is still flu free for this year's flu season. But as we well know that's going to change.
And when the flu comes knocking at your door, it's likely to be carried in by a child. 



It's a parenting fact of life: kids equal germs. They share them almost too well with others; often putting their hands in their mouths and then rubbing their faces with grubby little hands.

Be honest. Have you ever gone to work feeling under-the-weather? Maybe you figured you're indispensable? Or the boss will appreciate your dedication? Problem is, when you go to work sick, you're running a big risk. 


That risk is that not only you, but also everyone around you is at risk of getting sick.

For something as well-known and as commonplace as the flu, it's the subject of an awful lot of myths. And like the flu itself, flu myths are hard to contain and hard to fight. HealthBeat sets the record straight. 


One of the most common myths floating around about the flu is that having it is annoying, but harmless.

That ground beef recall you may have heard about involving Sam's Club in Minnesota has been expanded. Here’s how to make sure the meat you're serving tonight is safe. 


The recall began late Friday when Sam's Clubs in the Twin Cities' metro area were asked to pull "American Chef's Selection Angus Beef Patties" from the store's freezer shelves after four Minnesota children were infected with E.

It's not a spider bite, but it often looks like one. We're talking about an increasingly common, highly-contagious skin infection involving an antibiotic-resistant bacteria. 


Normally associated with hospitals and nursing homes MRSA, as it's known, can cause deadly staph infections. Only now the bacteria are circulating outside those facilities in KELOLAND communities and that has area infectious disease doctors concerned. 



These days, Shannon McCoy admits to being a bit of a "germaphobe." She says, "We're doing a lot more towel washing in the house and changing sheets a lot more.