Cases of the flu are down dramatically from previous years, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. | stock photo
Cases of the flu are down dramatically from previous years, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. | stock photo
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, one unexpected consequence of the outbreak is the dramatic drop in influenza cases within the past year.
During the last week in February, Michigan recorded 488 cases of the flu in 2020, 284 cases in 2019, and 536 cases in 2018, according to Bridge Michigan. The total cases during the same week in 2021 was four.
The news concerning influenza this winter doesn't stop there. Only seven adults have been hospitalized for the flu since Oct. 1. Just 11 people out of more than 7,700 patient visits (0.1% of visits) in outpatient settings exhibited flu-like symptoms, a rate that pales in comparison to the 4% rate of 2020, 2.2% in 2019 and 5.6% in 2018, according to Bridge Michigan. Through the precautions taken to combat COVID-19 -- wearing face masks, handwashing and social distancing -- the spread of the flu and other respiratory diseases has plummeted this winter.
Macomb County Health Department health officer Andrew Cox told Bridge Michigan, “You try to look at the positives, the silver lining, of COVID, and you’ve seen some creativity in service delivery models.”
Another factor that has significantly contributed to the drop in respiratory disease transmission has been the sharp decline in world travel on planes and cruise ships. Domestic and international travel plummeted by 60% in 2020 as a result of the various lockdowns enforced during the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr. Josh Petrie, a researcher at the Michigan Influenza Center at the University of Michigan, told Bridge Michigan, “I think it’s a fairly safe assumption that these [factors] are all COVID-related. The exact factors of how it happened, we’re still figuring that out.” One drawback of the reduction in flu cases this past winter is that it will make matching a vaccine for next year’s flu strain more difficult, according to Petrie.
With the information we have taken from this pandemic, perhaps the practices of masking and social distancing will continue beyond the coronavirus outbreak -- and could help keep Michigan residents safe in the future.
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