Increasing Flu Levels Found In Wastewater In OKC, Tulsa, Health Officials Say

Wastewater researchers in the state have put out a warning to Oklahomans. Right now, they are currently seeing increasing flu levels in both Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

This has state health leaders hoping Oklahomans take it seriously.

Health leaders said this is the time of year they normally see an increase in respiratory diseases, and the concern this year is it will put more pressure on an already strained health care system if there is a large increase in the flu.

"It is a fantastic tool for public health surveillance and disease prevention and control," said Dr. Katrina Kuhn, infectious disease epidemiologist at the Hudson College of Public Health at OU Health Sciences Center.

Kuhn is a part of the research team. Their team just expanded surveillance to include the flu after starting with just COVID-19. Right now, their data shows increasing levels of the flu strain A.

"When we have a few more weeks of data, we will be able to associate these measures of viral load in the wastewater with actual cases and that will give us a solid model," said Kuhn.

Which doctors said will help predict how many cases health officials expect to see and if the flu cases continue this upward trend.

"The real issue here is can we handle all of this at once," said Phil Maytubby, Oklahoma City-County Health Department chief operating officer. "Do we have the ability to handle all these patients?"

Maytubby said the data typically predicts what the state will see in terms of cases in the next week.

"It is truly the advanced warning and another piece of the science we can predict and use to help inform and protect our people," said Maytubby. "If we have advanced warning, it gives us some time."

Health leaders said that flu uptake is down so far this year. Maytubby said it is not too late to get your flu shot, which you can get with the COVID-19 vaccine.