Influenza cases increasing in Flathead County
KATE HESTON | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 6 days, 23 hours AGO
A patient is given a flu vaccine Oct. 28, 2022, in Lynwood, Calif. On Tuesday, July 2, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced plans to pay Moderna $176 million to develop a mRNA vaccine to treat bird flu in people, as cases in dairy cows continue to mount across the country. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)
Kate Heston covers politics and natural resources for the Daily Inter Lake. She is a graduate of the University of Iowa's journalism program, previously worked as photo editor at the Daily Iowan and was a News21 fellow in Phoenix. She can be reached at kheston@dailyinterlake.com or 406-758-4459. | January 23, 2025 11:00 PM
Flathead County continues to see an uptick of influenza cases and was home to a norovirus outbreak in December.
“Each year brings a different picture but it’s not unusual to begin seeing an increase in cases around this time of the flu season. In Montana, activity has historically peaked in late January through mid-February,” said Lisa Dennison, population health manager for the Flathead City-County Health Department.
The county has seen about 530 cases of influenza and 19 influenza-related hospitalizations between Sep. 29 — the start of flu season — and Jan. 11.
At this time last year, Flathead County had reported 956 cases and 60 hospitalizations during the flu season. The year prior it was 1,141 cases and 52 hospitalizations.
While the county is seeing a lower level of reported cases so far, flu season is unpredictable, Dennison said.
“It’s too soon to tell how this year will compare in severity to previous years as we don’t know how the rest of the flu season will progress,” she said.
As for the norovirus outbreak in December, that occurred within a child care facility, according to Dennison.
Countywide, there have been nine influenza-related deaths since December 2023. Two of those occurred in November and December of last year. NonStop Local reported three confirmed influenza deaths in Yellowstone County last week.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show an increase nationwide in cases of Covid-19, influenza and RSV, all respiratory viruses, as well as the gastrointestinal disease norovirus.
As of the week ending Jan. 4, 18.6% of tests for influenza were returning positive across the country, according to ABC News. Meanwhile, 27.91% of tests for norovirus came back positive, the highest level since 2019.
Covid-19 remains present in the community with over 1,700 cases in Flathead County in 2024. There were four separate outbreaks in December, meaning the cases were connected. There were 44 total outbreaks last year.
Reporter Kate Heston may be reached at 758-4459 or kheston@dailyinterlake.com.
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