SEBASTIAN COUNTY, Ark. — During this 2023-2024 flu season, cases are higher than they have been over the last several years throughout Arkansas and some counties in the area are having record years.
"Certainly seeing a lot more flu this year than I think I have personally in years prior," Dr. Upton Siddons with Baptist Health Family Clinic in Greenwood said.
Siddons said this not only applies to the Greenwood area, but he said the entire state has seen increases in both types of the flu.
"There was an increase, a continued increase, in some flu cases that we'd seen compared to last year or the year before," Siddons said. "And I think in some ways that lines up with what we've seen at the state level, you know. The state of Arkansas releases ... weekly surveillance records for a lot of communicable diseases, but especially COVID-19, influenzas A and B, and RSV. And over the last two or three weeks, we've seen a real spike especially in these flu-like illnesses."
The numbers from the Arkansas Department of Health's weekly records show the percentage of students missing per county.
Sebastian County currently has one of the largest percentages at almost 11%, while Benton and Crawford County are both above the average at more than 9%.
Just under 10% of all emergency room visits in the state are due to the flu with another almost 3% resulting in a COVID diagnosis.
The majority of these flu cases have been type B. While there isn't a huge difference in symptoms for flu type A and B. Luckily, for the majority of the state, Type B is less severe. But, the difference between the two is a lot like tasting the rainbow.
"I think for me, a lot of it is like comparing flavors of Skittles, right? So there are different colors. And I think to me, they largely taste all the same," Upton said. "Overall, I think flu B is something we tend to think is a bit less severe. Certainly, some of the more severe flu strains we've seen in the last couple decades have been type A flus."
Doctor Siddons said the best way to prevent the flu is to wash your hands frequently and get your flu vaccine. Vaccines are available through March of this year.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.