METRO DETROIT (WXYZ) — Flu levels are at a 25-year high and cases are popping up in communities across the area. It's something that has so many people concerned, and for good reason.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s latest map has Michigan at the highest-risk level, showing just how widespread this surge has become. The CDC estimates there have been at least 11 million flu cases as of Saturday, Dec. 27, as well at least 120,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths. At the same time, outpatient doctor's visits nationwide for flu-like illnesses are at the highest level recorded since 1997, per the CDC.
Thousands of people are dealing with the flu statewide and even here locally, and as cases continue to rise, so does the level of concern.
Watch Ryan Marshall's story in the video player below
Juanita Brown is a medical assistant at Progressive Health Care in Livonia. She often cares for sick patients, but Juanita was the one needing care this flu season.
"It started Christmas Eve, just with a sore throat. I lost my voice for a couple of days; nausea, vomiting for the first couple of days. And then, after that, it just went from there. The cough, the sinus congestion, the pressure, the headache. It just got bad," she said.
Juanita's now in the clear and no longer contagious, but she's still concerned about how widespread the high flu levels currently are.
“It's tough to stay healthy. It really is. I mean, we have the flu shots. We have the TamiFlu. We have medication, hand washing. But, for some reason, it still did not bypass me. And then, pretty much all of us, all my co-workers were sick during the holiday season.”
Doctor Yevhen Drobot with Corewell Health said he's been busy this flu season.
“We’ve been having a lot of people test positive for flu in the office, the outpatient setting as well as in the hospital coming in very sick," Dr. Drobot said. “Currently as of December, there was only about 24 percent of Michiganders who were vaccinated.”
That vaccine hesitancy may be contributing to the state's rise in flu cases. According to the CDC, 45 states, including Michigan, reported high or very high flu activity recently.
And according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, there have been over 900 flu-related hopsital admissions in the state just in the last week.
Juanita is doing the best she can to avoid getting sick again.
"(I'm going to) keep my hands washed, keep my mask on when I go in with patients. And, that’s about all I can do," she said.
Dr. Drobot also provided some other ways people with the flu can better manage it: take Tamiflu, stay hydrated and always wash or sanitize your hands.
