The flu season in Illinois is especially rough this year. And physicians think they know why.
The flu struck early and hard this year. Brian Curtis is the Director of Physician Practice at OSF Medical Group in Peoria, and he says the flu peaked right around Christmas, instead of the usual peak time in late January.
CURTIS: “It was kind of an inopportune time with the holidays and gatherings that people have which gave a prime opportunity to share it.”
Speaking on the Illinois Pubic Media daily talk show The 21st, Curtis says the main culprit this year is the influenza A strain. It hasn’t been seen in the western hemisphere for a few years and people’s immune systems weren’t ready for it. This year’s flu vaccine didn’t contain a vaccine for influenza A.