Flu is hitting late peak in Oregon.

Byline: Tim Christie The Register-Guard

Flu season is hitting a late peak in Oregon and may last for several more weeks, state public health officials said Friday.

While every year is different, flu season typically peaks in Oregon in late January or early February. Last year, for example, the flu hit much earlier and was mostly over by the end of January, said state epidemiologist Dr. Mel Kohn, who is with the state Department of Human Services.

Doctors don't routinely report influenza, but state health officials track the disease based on reports from medical laboratories, sentinel physicians who volunteer to track the disease, and the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland.

In Lane County, only a few confirmed cases have been reported, but anecdotally, public health officials know that people in the community are sick with flulike symptoms, said Betsy Meredith, communicable disease nursing supervisor with Lane County Public Health.

"We do seem to be having a little spike in influenzalike illness in March," she said. "We would like to see flu season winding down, but some years it's April before it's gone and some years it's May before it's gone."

Meredith urged people to practice good "respiratory etiquette" to avoid spreading disease: Wash your hands frequently and avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth; cover your mouth when you cough; avoid close contact with people who are sick; and stay home if you're feverish and achy.

Statewide, positive lab tests were up for the week ending March 12 - for the sixth week in a row - while clinic visits were up 1 to 2 percent.

But clinic visits have since decreased. And reports of respiratory illness among the 460,000 Kaiser health plan members in Oregon and southwest Washington declined slightly for the week ending March 12.

Influenza is a viral illness with symptoms that include fever, headache, cough, sore throat and fatigue. Most of those infected have a brief illness and quick recovery.

Because influenza and most other wintertime respiratory illnesses are caused by viruses, antibiotics are usually not necessary, health officials said.

For some people, particularly those under 2 and over 65, the flu can be serious and even lethal. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 30,000 people die each year from influenza or its complications.