You got your flu shot this year.

And you still came down with the flu.

What gives?

Blame a rogue flu strain, which was not included in this year's vaccine, that is making the rounds.

The county, state and nation are in the midst of a swelling flu season, the worst in four to five years, state and local health officials are saying.

Through Feb. 9 Lancaster County has the fifth highest prevalency of the flu in the state, behind a cluster of four western Pennsylvania counties, according to state figures.

And Pennsylvania is one of 44 states reporting "widespread" flu activity, according the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"It's wildfire," said Dr. John Ginder of Kissel Hill Family Care at 116 W. Airport Road, Lititz, who is seeing up to a half-dozen flu patients a day. "It's above-average, probably the worst I've seen in the last three to five years."

People from the very young to the very old are dragging into doctors' offices and hospital emergency rooms with the telltale symptoms: fever, sore throat, cough, congestion and severe body aches.

Lancaster General Hospital has had 17 patients with the flu since Jan. 1, three-quarters of them under the age of 6 or over the age of 71. Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center has tested more than 100 patients for the flu, and more than a quarter were positive.

"It has really picked up here in February," said Deborah Willwerth, Heart's chief nursing officer.

"We're finding that we're hitting the peak flu season later this year," said Joanne Eshelman, spokeswoman for Ephrata Community Hospital, which has had 97 cases. "Probably we are hitting our peak now."

And doctors are seeing a twist this year: about half or more of their patients with the flu actually got a flu shot.

"A lot of the times the people feel terrible and they say, 'How can it be the flu because I got the shot?' " says Dr. Leanne Beidler of Crooked Oak Family Health Center, 1655 Crooked Oak Drive. "It seems like the flu shot missed its mark this year."

The flu vaccine includes protection against three viral strains of the flu. Every year before the flu vaccine is manufactured, federal health officials make an educated guess, based on what is happening globally, about what strains will be prevalent in the coming flu season, doctors said.

This year, a new strain of the flu not included in the vaccine, the Brisbane strain, popped up and started infecting people.

In fact, the state health department estimates that almost 60 percent of this year's flu cases have been caused by a strain not covered by this year's vaccine, spokeswoman Stacy Kriedeman said.

But she and other health officials said the flu vaccine still provided some protection to most folks.

"You could get a less serious case," she said. "Or you may not get sick. It will provide some level of protection."

Doctors are seeing that with patients here.

"Some of the people I'm seeing don't look as bad," Beidler said, noting that they also have fewer complications.

Health officials warn that the flu season has not yet peaked.

Marla Konas, infection control nurse at Lancaster Regional Medical Center, said patients continue to come into the emergency room with flu symptoms.

"I really think we'll see it ... into March," she said.

So how do you protect yourself against the Brisbane strain or other strains of the flu?

Follow the usual common-sense advice: wash your hands often, eat fruits and vegetables, drink fluids, get adequate exercise and rest.

"Try not to let your body get worn down," Ginder said.

And don't give up on the flu vaccine in the future.

"Don't let it keep you from getting it next year," Ginder said.

CONTACT US: cstauffer@LNPnews.com or 481-6024