The Flu Is Everywhere-- Here's How to Stay Healthy
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The flu (influenza) causes fever, cough, sore throat, and more.
The flu isn’t stomach flu (caused by norovirus), although norovirus has also been running through our communities this fall and winter. The flu is a respiratory illness that affects your nose, throat, and sometimes your lungs. The flu can cause a lot of symptoms, and people often get a fever, chills, cough, congestion, fatigue, and/or a sore throat. The flu is caused by a virus and can’t be cured by antibiotics.
The flu can be deadly, especially for some people.
A lot of people have mild illness with the flu and can manage their symptoms at home. (Note: Even “mild” illness can mean you feel miserable and can cause you to miss several days of school and work!) But some people can get very sick from the flu. This is especially true for children under 5 years old. People 65 years or older and people with chronic health conditions, like asthma or diabetes, can also be at higher risk. Wisconsin recently had its first child die from the flu in 2025.
We’re seeing more flu than we have in the last several years.
If it seems like the flu is more intense this year, it’s not just you. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services is reporting very high levels of flu in the state. In Dane County, we’re seeing flu dominate the respiratory virus landscape. We’ve surpassed the peak from the last two years of emergency room visits due to flu. As of this posting, 74 people are hospitalized with the flu in Dane County and over 9% of people visiting the ER are being diagnosed with the flu.
It’s not too late to get vaccinated.
When the flu is so widespread like this, it can be hard to avoid getting sick, so you might think, “What’s the point of getting vaccinated at this point?” But you should know that it’s still worth it to get the flu shot! The flu vaccine can give you protection against the worst of the flu. Even if you get the flu, it will likely be milder than if you weren’t vaccinated, and you can protect yourself from having to go to the hospital. Everyone ages 6 months and older should get a flu shot every year.
You can take steps to stop the spread of the flu.
If you’ve already gotten vaccinated this year, there are still steps you can take! The flu spreads through droplets from people’s nose and mouth when they do things like cough, sneeze, or talk. You can prevent these droplets from making you sick by doing things like washing your hands often, wearing a mask, avoiding touching your face, and avoiding sick people. If you are sick, stay home until you feel better and have had no fever for a full 24 hours, and you haven't taken medicine for fever during that time.
Learn more and get vaccinated
This content is free for use with credit to Public Health Madison & Dane County .
