PORTLAND, Maine — Even on a warm, spring day like we had Monday, it's still possible to catch the flu.
According to the latest numbers from the Maine CDC, there have been over 10,000 reported cases, more than a thousand hospitalizations, and one flu-related death of a child to date, this season.
Dr. Dora Mills, Chief Health Improvement Officer for MaineHealth, says it's unusual to see outbreaks of influenza in May, but it's not unheard of. She says the strain, influenza B, tends to come out later in the season and the H1N1 strain is still circulating worldwide.
So, this late in the season, how do we tell the difference if we're sneezing from the flu or allergies?
"When people have allergies they generally aren't sick otherwise," she said. "They don't have the achiness and the fever that you have with influenza. Two of the hallmark symptoms you have with influenza are really bad achiness all over, muscle ache, as well as a fever."
The Maine CDC is expected to report it's latest and likely final numbers for the flu season, Tuesday.