Influenza cases are rising in Clallam and Jefferson counties while COVID-19 and RSV remain low, and health officials confirmed avian flu in a backyard flock in Jefferson County.
“We are seeing a steady uptick in influenza cases,” said Dr. Allison Berry, the public health officer for Clallam and Jefferson counties, in her monthly update to the Board of Jefferson County commissioners on Monday. “We tend to see an earlier rise in cases and more severe outcomes in our region just because so many of our population is over 65.”
Severe cases most often affect the elderly, immunocompromised individuals and children younger than 5, said Berry, who suggested that those who have not received a vaccination do so now. The vaccination is recommended for everyone 6 months and older, she said.
This year is expected to be a more serious flu season than previous seasons because the influenza subtype being detected — H3N2 — tends to pack a bigger punch, Berry said.
In addition to vaccinations, Berry recommended masking indoors.
“A high-quality mask can protect you and your neighbor in the airport and on those airplanes,” she said.
Berry also addressed Avian influenza, noting that a Grays Harbor County resident died of a rare strain in November.
Last week, a Jefferson County backyard flock tested positive for the avian flu, Berry said. The case is not known to be related to the Grays Harbor County case, she added.
“To reduce the risk of contracting the avian influenza, the most important thing that you can do is to reduce the traffic of wild birds and their interaction with your birds,” Berry said. “Trying to keep your birds separate from migratory geese and migratory waterfowl can make a huge difference in reducing their risk of getting sick.”
If people have sick birds, they should wear gloves, N95 masks and ideally protective glasses while caring for them, Berry said.
For members of the public who don’t have poultry, the risk of contracting avian influenza is very, very low, she added.
“We have not yet seen any human-to-human transmission from avian influenza,” Berry said. “So far, it’s really primarily affecting the birds and then people who come into very close contact with their birds.”
Those who have birds and experience an onset of flu symptoms are more likely to have the standard flu, but they should mention to their doctors that they have birds and if their birds are sick, Berry said.
A listener of radio station KPTZ in Port Townsend, which hosts the public health update, asked if Washington state plans to follow Utah in expanding medical civil commitment, which would forcibly confine homeless people to encampments.
“No, I don’t think that’s going to happen in Washington state,” she said.
Berry noted that the commitment process has most commonly been used for hospitalization of individuals who are an immediate risk to themselves or others. It is most often used for people who are actively suicidal, she said.
Also, it is temporary. Attempts to commit someone for more than 72 hours are supposed to involve analysis by doctors and go before judges, Berry said.
“What they’re considering doing (in Utah) is really rounding up people who are currently living unhoused, on the street, and forcing them into encampments,” she said. “That’s not going to help the situation and it’s very likely to hurt people.”
Berry addressed common misunderstandings about homelessness.
One is that all homeless people are addicted to drugs and have serious mental health disorders. Statistically, only one in five have substance use disorders, Berry said.
Further, it is commonly misunderstood that substance use is what causes homelessness. The opposite is true, Berry said.
Many people start using drugs because they are living homeless, and drugs meet their immediate needs, she said. Homeless youth, in particular, are much more likely to start using methamphetamines as they make you feel warm, abate hunger and keep you awake, she added.
“When I think of homeless youth, I would much rather we meet those needs in a very different way,” she said. “You bring them inside, make them warm and feed them.”
Similarly, one in five homeless people are living with serious mental health disorders, Berry said, though the persistent trauma of living outside can contribute to developing anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Also, she noted, if you see a woman and a child living homeless, the statistical likelihood is that their situation can be attributed to domestic violence.
Most centrally, people do not want to be homeless but cannot afford to access housing, Berry said.
Berry grounded her comments by referring to the recent homeless encampment sweep in Port Townsend.
“If you’re listening to this program, you are much more likely today to become homeless than to become a millionaire,” Berry said. “When we look at people who are living outside, we need to see them with the possibility that we could be in their shoes. Most of us don’t have a lot of savings. It’s just one bad medical bill, one bad accident, one bad relationship away from making us have to live outside.”
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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@peninsuladailynews.com.
