Schools close as flu cases ramp up in Bradley County

BRADLEY COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF) – The flu is taking its toll on many parts of our viewing area.

“People have been very sick lately,” Lauryn Smith said.

Smith is a Nurse Practitioner and works at Comprehensive Wellness Center in Cleveland.

She said they first started seeing cases of the flu about a month ago, but just this week and last week, cases in all ages have really ramped up.

“I’ve tested the majority of people that have come in complaining of anything that resembles the flu and have had a lot of positive flu tests come back,” Smith said.

The center is not alone.

Other clinics in Cleveland have also been treating several people for the flu.

Because illnesses are going around in the area, Bradley County Schools are closed on Friday and Cleveland City Schools Friday and Monday.

Both districts said they will be taking measures to sanitize their schools.

It’s a way to help prevent an illness that can be pretty easy to catch.

“The flu is spread through droplets, through coughing, sneezing, things like that. And it can be spread up to six feet. So, if anybody that is around that coughs or sneezes on you or on a surface and then you touch the surface and they have the virus, that’s how you pick it up,” Smith said.

You can help prevent the spread, Smith said, by simply washing your hands.

“If you are exposed to the flu by someone in your family, you can take Tamiflu for prophylaxis to prevent you from getting it and just understand that antibiotics don’t treat the flu. They don’t treat colds. They don’t treat viruses.”

Smith said she still recommends you get the flu vaccine, if you haven’t already, as the flu season isn’t over yet.