POCATELLO - Cases of influenza are on the rise in eastern Idaho.
There have been more reported cases of influenza in the whole state of Idaho during this flu season than there was at any point in the last one. And although cases of the flu are rising, the number of adults who are receiving the flu vaccination, otherwise known as the flu shot, is not.
"We're having a different flu season than we had last year," said Nikki Sayer, head nurse of immunizations at Eastern Idaho Public Health, District 7.
This statewide increase in cases comes at a time when the whole country is experiencing its worst flu season in at least 15 years, according to The Associated Press.
The Idaho Division of Public Health measures cases of the flu through a metric called the "weekly percent ILI", which refers to the percentage of patients visiting a healthcare provider with an influenza-like illness (ILI). Evan Bischoff, an epidemiologist with Southeast Idaho Public Health, District 6, said this is because influenza is so widespread that it's not a required reportable illness.
"So we don't necessarily receive all of the reports that are maybe out there," Bischoff said.
So far, the peak of this flu season saw a 9.8% weekly percent ILI, while the 2023-2024 season reached 6.15%. This season's peak was the highest one the state has seen since the 2009-2010 season, which is the first year with available data.
And although the 2022-2023 season's highest point got close to this year's at 9.6%, the amount of people visiting the doctor with an ILI immediately began to drop after that point. The most recently reported week saw cases of people visiting their provider with an ILI increase over a whole percentage from 5.3% to 6.5%.
Last flu season, weekly ILI had already dropped to 3.3% at that same time, and the 2022-2023 season saw it decrease to 1.3%.
Butte County, which is in the boundaries of District 6, has seen an influenza and RSV outbreak that prompted schools to close Wednesday and Thursday.
According to a statement provided to EastIdahoNews.com by Joe Steele, superintendent of the Butte County Joint School District, 28% of the student body was out with an illness on Tuesday. The district's website states that enrollment for this school year was about 395 students, meaning about 110 students were out of school with an illness.
Custodians will disinfect and air out the buildings while school is closed Thursday.
Bischoff said this is likely a local outbreak, as that same kind of increase hasn't been seen everywhere else. He said school buildings are one place where influenza can easily spread.
"Where there's a lot of people gathered for a long period of time, that's definitely a setting where something like the flu, a respiratory illness, can spread very easily, very quickly," Bischoff said.
The number of Idahoans who are not getting their flu shot every year is well over half, according to the Division of Public Health. The percentage of the adult population that didn't get their flu shot in 2023 -- the most recent year with data available -- was 67.9%.
The amount of adults who didn't receive their flu shot that year was 68% of District 6, and 70.5% of District 7.
Both Sayer and Bischoff said that it was important for more people to get their flu shot to reduce the spread of influenza. Although getting the shot doesn't make it impossible for someone to catch the flu, it reduces the risk of facing severe symptoms.
The vast majority of people who catch influenza recover, but people with a weaker immune system, adults 65 years and older and children younger than 2 years old are at an increased risk, according to the CDC.
So far, this flu season has seen 40 influenza-associated deaths in Idaho, according to the Division of Public Health.
"It's important to have everybody vaccinated, not only for yourself but for your families ... to keep people working and keep families healthy," Sayer said.
"We do recommend getting (the flu shot) because it can help reduce the seriousness of symptoms, or the chance of being hospitalized," Bischoff said.
They also both said that people can take additional measures, like washing hands, covering coughs and sneezes and improving indoor ventilation.
"You want to make sure you're staying healthy so that those around you that you love, or that your community is also not going to get sick either," Bischoff said.