The flu season is here early, and health officials say the flu activity is increasing day-by-day and numbers are in the double digits. In an effort to stay cautious, Sanford Health in Bemidji and Bagley have put up visitor restrictions earlier than previous years.

Usually, type A flu is more dominant and starts after Christmas in the region. However, this year there’s a great number of type B influenza circulating around.

Brian Livermore, a Sanford Bemidji Infection Control Consultant, says the highest incident of the B virus has been seen in the Bagley/Clearbrook-Gonvick area, especially among children. He says the best way for people to protect themselves from the flu is to get vaccinated.

“I would advise people to pay attention to the fact that you don’t have to be ill to spread the flu. For the day at least, sometimes as much as two days before you develop symptoms, you can be spreading virus,” Livermore said. “That means, when you’re home sick you have to think back to a couple of days go to think about how many people you exposed. So, think ahead and try to avoid those situations, monitor yourself closely, stay the heck home when you get sick.”

So far, there are 119 cases of A and B influenza virus in Bemidji.

By — Malaak Khattab

News Reporter