The Student Health Center has seen far more patients - and earlier in the season - with flu-like symptoms this year than in years past, a UNM official said.
Between 90 and 100 patients are coming to the center every day, and a majority of them are showing signs of having influenza, Beverly Kloeppel, the center's interim director, said.
"We normally see some cases of influenza at this time of year, but not this many," she said. "We started seeing it show up in the third week of November, but the season usually runs from about mid-December until January."
Kloeppel could not say how many at UNM have tested positive for the flu, because results from the laboratories that conduct the tests are not yet available.
Moreover, only about 5 percent of patients showing symptoms are tested, she said.
Practitioners at the center are still administering about 45 flu shots every day and will continue to do so in the coming weeks, Kloeppel said. Shots cost $15 each, 80 percent of which is covered for those who have student health insurance.
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While many clinics and hospitals across the West have struggled to keep up with demands for the flu vaccine, Kloeppel said the Student Health Center has managed to stay ahead of the game.
"We ran out of our original supply, so we ordered more," she said. "We've had to have some shipped overnight to keep up with the volume, and we just got a few hundred more in the past few days."
The number of reported influenza cases has risen sharply statewide this year. The state Health Department has confirmed more than 200 cases in New Mexico.
"Our experience is definitely consistent with what they're seeing at least citywide," Kloeppel said.
No flu deaths have been confirmed this season, but UNM Hospital and state officials are investigating a number of cases.
Two of those cases involved children who died at UNMH over the Thanksgiving holiday. A spokeswoman for the state Health Department said autopsy and investigation results on the cases won't be available until early next week.
