Viruses spread across area

Hari Sinha hasn't been seriously ill in three years, a lucky streak he attributes, in part, to his annual flu shot.

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But this year, the national flu vaccine shortage prevented him from getting one.

Sure enough, Mr. Sinha, 61, became sick with a high fever, cough and body aches several days ago.

"I couldn't get up from bed until today," Mr. Sinha said, seeking treatment at the Center for Primary Care in Augusta.

Mr. Sinha is one of many patients who visited the office this week complaining of flulike symptoms, said his physician, Dr. Phillip Kennedy.

"Just in the past two weeks, it's really just ramped up," Dr. Kennedy said. "I'm seeing multiple people every day with the flu."

Other illnesses, including bad colds and stomach viruses, also have hit the region hard, keeping adults home from work and increasing the absentee rate at schools.

North Harlem Elementary School Principal Lisa Soloff said about 35 pupils were out with flulike and viral symptoms two weeks ago.

The bug has passed for now, but pupils and school employees are washing their hands often and using hand sanitizer to stop germs from spreading, she said.

Glascock County Consolidated School in Gibson canceled class Monday after a gastrointestinal virus spread through the pupil population, said school superintendent Jim Holton.

The previous Friday, 96 pupils were absent or left school before lunch, he said.

"It's very contagious," said Mr. Holton. "In close quarters like you have in a school, it moves through the population rapidly."

Classes resumed Tuesday with more than half of the sick pupils back in class, he said.

The cold and flu season usually begins around the holidays, but in Augusta it didn't appear until the end of January, Dr. Kennedy said.

Reports of the flu are common this time of year, he continued.

Many people get sick over the winter because they are frequently inside with closed doors and windows shutting out fresh air, he said.

In addition to flu and cold viruses, Dr. Kennedy recently has seen cases of strep throat and viral gastroenteritis, a 36-hour virus causing nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

And the germs are all over town.

Bonnie Burt, of Club Car, said about 40 percent of the company's 1,500 employees have been affected by a cold or flulike symptoms in the past three weeks.

At Childcare Network in North Augusta, assistant director Susan Cullipher said a few children have had runny noses and sinus infections, and at the worst contracted stomach viruses.

But that's common in places where children learn or play, she said.

To get rid of germs, day-care employees sanitize toys and furniture several times a day with a bleach solution, she said.

In fact, Ms. Cullipher always tells new employees to "be prepared to get whatever these kids have until your immune system is built up."

As for Mr. Sinha, Dr. Kennedy prescribed some medication to reduce the risk of passing the virus to others in his home.

But his wife, Meena, isn't worried about catching the flu, he said.

"She just wants to take care of me," Mr. Sinha said.

Reach Kate Lewis at (706) 823-3215 or kate.lewis@augustachronicle.com.