Flu cases jump, but peak of season still weeks away.

Byline: Tim Christie The Register-Guard

The flu has arrived in Oregon, but public health officials say it's not too late to get vaccinated.

Statewide lab-confirmed cases more than doubled last week, from 18 on Dec. 10 to 45 on Dec. 17.

"Annual influenza is definitely here," said Dr. Susan Allan, the state's public health director.

The peak of flu season is still several weeks away, though, so there's still time for people to get a flu shot, she said.

Oregon's flu season typically peaks in late January or early February and can continue into April or even May.

In Lane County, some vaccine still should be available from private health providers and pharmacies, said Pat Dotson, senior stores clerk with Lane County Public Health.

The agency recently redistributed about 3,000 surplus doses around the county. Dotson said he hasn't heard from any providers looking for more vaccine since then. He also said he's been referring people to the Fred Meyer store on Q Street in Springfield, which provides adult flu shots from noon to 6 p.m. and by appointment.

Allan said the state is monitoring for avian influenza, even though no human or bird cases of the H5N1 virus have been identified in North America.

"Avian flu does not currently present any risk of creating human outbreaks. But `regular' influenza should be taken seriously," she said, noting that it causes up to 36,000 deaths each year in the United States.

Allan said it's especially important for people in any of the high-priority groups to get a flu shot: children ages 6 months to 32 months; adults age 65 or older; residents of nursing homes and other long-term facilities; anyone ages 2 to 64 with underlying medical conditions; pregnant women; health care workers providing direct patient care; and out-of-home caregivers and household contacts of children 6 months old or younger.

Allan said that for healthy people ages 5 to 49 who want the vaccine, a good option is FluMist, a live attenuated influenza vaccine in the form of a nasal spray. If healthy adults use FluMist, that leaves more regular vaccine available for people who are at highest risk from the flu and who cannot take FluMist.