Officials at Cass County Health System have reported higher than normal influenza activity so far this year, which is in keeping with state and nationwide trends.  Dr. Todd Bean, Chief Medical Officer, said “We have had more than 40 cases of influenza so far this year and have seen mostly influenza A, as has the rest of the state. We want the public to be aware and take appropriate precautions to help control the spread of influenza and other illnesses.”

Dr. Bean stressed the importance of hand-washing and self-isolation in controlling the spread of the flu.  “If people are ill, they should stay home from work, school and other activities. Hand-washing continues to be the most effective tool in preventing the spread of germs, and it is not too late to get a flu vaccine.”

Cass County Health System limits visitors to inpatients during flu season, asking anyone with flu-like symptoms to stay home.  Parents are asked to not bring young children and infants to visit hospital patients throughout the flu season, typically until the end of March. Children are a particularly vulnerable group—as are the elderly—and it increases the child’s risk of exposure, as well as the risk of exposure to patients.

Atlantic Medical Center offers influenza vaccines in the Patient Services Center located in the clinic.  The cost of Influenza vaccination is covered by most health insurances and financial assistance is available for those without insurance who cannot afford the $30 charge.  The Patient Services Center is open from 8:30 – 11:00 and 1:30 – 4:00 pm.  No appointment is necessary, and vaccine is still available.

The flu is a respiratory illness caused by viruses. It comes on suddenly and symptoms may include fever, headache, tiredness, cough, sore throat, nasal congestion and body aches. Illness typically lasts two to seven days. Influenza may cause severe illness or even death in people such as the very young or very old, or those who have underlying health conditions.

The “stomach bug” which causes diarrhea and vomiting is not caused by the influenza virus but usually by norovirus—the flu vaccine will not protect you against this illness. Norovirus is also on the rise in Cass County, and frequent, thorough handwashing is the best defense against the virus.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A 21-year-old West Des Moines man has been arrested after a gun he was handling fired, sending a bullet through a basement ceiling that hit his sleeping mother. Paramedics were called to the home around 5 a.m. Friday and found a 43-year-old woman shot in her upper body. She was taken to a hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening.

Police say her son told officers he had been holding the handgun in the home’s basement when it fired, sending the round into the ceiling and through a bed on which his mother was sleeping. He called 911. The son faces charges of reckless use of a firearm causing injury and three drug possession counts.