BERLIN, Vt. -
ABC22/FOX44 want to keep you healthy. We've been tracking the flu for you for weeks now.
In our area we've seen high numbers of the seasonal illness and since October, the Vermont Department of Health says three adults have died from the flu.
The Centers for Disease Control says 41 states already have widespread flu activity.
Just an example of hard hit areas, Boston, Massachusetts reporting about 700 confirmed cases and even 18 deaths.
Those numbers, prompting Boston officials to declare a public health emergency.
And closer to home, it's not quite as bad in Vermont and we want to keep it that way.
I went to the Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin to find out when you should stay home from work, when you should see a doctor, and what you can do shorten your illness because this strain is highly contagious.
"The cough, the cold, the headache, the achiness, the fever," The CVMC Vice President of Medical Affairs Philip Brown said.
If you have any flu-like symptoms for more than 24 hours, that means it's time to contact your physician. There are anti-viral prescription medications like Tamiflu that you can take when you first start feeling sick. They can shorten your illness and minimize the complications.
I asked, "should you stay home from work that first day, are you contagious that first day that you don't feel well?" Brown said, "you're certainly contagious, the moment you're coughing."
So again, stay home! Avoid spreading the flu to people who are high risk, like the elderly and the young.
"You may be in a grocery line exposing somebody to influenza who may have heart disease or asthma," Brown said.
Because for those people, the flu can be deadly, and even though emergency rooms across the country are packed, if you have a preexisting complication, that's when you should go.
"Bad asthma and now I'm short of breath, heart disease and now I'm having chest discomfort," Brown said.
Once you start feeling better, you can still be contagious for up to seven to ten days, so doctors recommend staying home or at the very least, keeping your distance. And of course, keep washing your hands, covering your cough, and we'll all do our best to keep Vermont's number of flu cases low.
Doctors say the flu shot is a good match this year for the strain that's active, and it's not too late to get one. Flu season often goes well into march.
