State Rep. Natalie Manley Urges Residents: Get a Flu Shot

The number of patients being treated for flu-like illness is on the rise.

Editor's note: The following is a press release issued by State Rep. Natalie Manley: With Illinois and the nation facing a severe flu season and hospitals seeing an increase in the number of patients being treated for flu-like symptoms, State Rep. Natalie Manley (D-Joliet) is encouraging local residents to get vaccinated.  “Getting a flu shot only takes a few minutes, and can dramatically reduce your chances of getting sick,” Manley said. “By being proactive in our own health habits, we can help encourage those who do not normally get a flu shot, to do so.” Illinois is one of 24 states that are now reporting higher than normal flu activity this season. The number of flu-related intensive care unit (ICU) hospitalizations so far this year is…

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Area Flu Cases Continue to Rise, Reach 'Intense' Levels

Chicago and its surrounding suburbs are seeing a steady rise in flu cases.

Area health agencies are reporting that this year's flu season is particularly intense.   The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is monitoring "widespread" influenza activity in Illinois this year. According to Will County Health Department spokesman Vic Reato, since Dec. 1, area hospitals have admitted 41 patients to the intensive care unit for influenza-like illnesses, including 22 people during the first nine days of 2013.  While there have been no pediatic flu deaths recorded in Will County, Reato said that statewide, there have been more than two dozen. Drug manufacturers have been feeling the effects of the increased number of cases. The makers of Tamiflu, which slows down flu symptoms, reported a shortage of the drug, …

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Sunday Comic: Sickening Signs of Flu Season

As the bug keeps spreading, we need to do what we can to stay healthy.

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Mike F.

6:23 pm on Monday, January 14, 2013

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Where to Get a Flu Shot in Plainfield

Illinois is one of 16 states reporting increased flu cases. It's not too late to get a flu shot.

Will County is seeing "significantly more" flu activity this flu season, and it's not too late to get a flu shot, according to health officials.  Illinois is one of 16 states reporting high levels of influenza-like illness, or ILI. In the Midwest, Illinois, Minnesota and Ohio are reporting the most cases, according to the Morris Daily Herald.  Respiratory illness the Will County Community Health Center in Joliet is up 20 percent, FAAP Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Kahler told the Morris Daily Herald.  Flu vaccine is available at pharmacies, doctor's offices, quick care clinics and at Will County Health Department locations in Joliet, Bolingbrook and Unviersity Park. For more information on flu shots available through the health department…

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It's Flu Time, and This Year Doctors Say Everyone Needs a Shot

Swine flu numbers are down dramatically compared to 2010, but the flu's out there and common sense applies when protecting yourself, health department officials say.

It’s that time of year again — sniffling, sneezing, aches-and-pains time. After last year’s swine flu pandemic, however, this year’s flu strains are nothing out of the ordinary, according to Vic Reato, spokesman for the Will County Health Department. The end of the holiday season typically means a spike in the number of flu cases, Reato said. The holidays may be a time of togetherness, but the downside is it's also time when illnesses spread like wildfire as people travel to see friends and family. “When they go, they take their diseases with them,” Reato said. “All kinds of viral diseases begin to increase after New Year’s. It’s nothing we don’t typically see.” Despite last year’s swine flu outbreak, the number of Will County patients who…

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