STEUBENVILLE — Communities throughout the U.S. have been afflicted by a large influenza load this year, but numbers are now trending downward, according to the Jefferson County General Health District’s medical director.

Dr. Janie Culp informed the Jefferson County Board of Health Tuesday that high activity zones in the U.S. number half of what they were just three weeks ago. Ohio’s activity levels are still considered very high, Culp said, adding she suspects those levels will lessen to normal within the next two weeks.

“It wasn’t a worse flu than usual,” said Culp, an infectious disease specialist.

“It’s not pandemic (levels.) It wasn’t a new influenza or anything like that. It was just one of those seasons where we had more sickness than usual, and that is a normal course for most viruses. It (always has) peaks and valleys.”

This happened to be one of those high peak years, something this region hasn’t seen since 2007, Culp said.

The Southeast Ohio region has the lowest rates of hospitalizations and illness in the state. Culp said that’s because large cities like Dayton, Cleveland and Cincinnati tend to raise their region’s numbers.

Across the Southeast region, there have been 104 hospitalizations for influenza in the past week. The region’s total for the season is 1,378 hospitalizations, which is higher than normal, Culp said. Jefferson County, in particular, has seen 94 total hospitalizations related to the flu.

Comparatively, there have been four pediatric mortalities throughout the country due to influenza in the past week and 14 total this year, which Culp said is slightly lower than usual.

“Our numbers are lower than when they were three weeks ago,” Culp said. “In terms of our activity, all the parameters are down, and that includes visits to express care, emergency room visits and (antiviral) prescriptions that are tracked through the pharmacies. So, all those parameters are down in the last two weeks, and I suspect in the next two weeks, they’ll be down even further.”

Additionally, Culp said the nation is seeing an apparent measles outbreak, being monitored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While 2024 has a total of 285 measles cases reported, including some in Ohio, 2025 has already seen 300 measles cases reported in 15 states, with none in Ohio. One pediatric death has occurred because of measles, and another is under investigation, Culp said.

According to statistics, all of the cases have been in individuals up to the age of 20 who either did not receive a full immunization course or have not been immunized at all, Culp said. The latter group accounts for 95 percent of the cases.

Multiple factors are at play, Culp said. The largest outbreaks have been in Texas, New Mexico and California, where it’s believed that immigration has had a role in the outbreaks. Also, an outbreak in Texas was related to a Mennonite group that does not usually immunize its children.

“We’ll see an outbreak off and on throughout the United States, and it usually is a group that does not immunize typically,” Culp said, adding later: “The other thing is, the immunizations for children in the United States are down. This is one of the first in the last few years where those immunization rates have been lower than 95 percent.”

She continued: “There is a vaccine hesitancy. I’m not sure why for measles, mumps or rubella because (they’ve) been around for years and years. We know that children can get into trouble if they get (one of those three illnesses), and not only that, if a child infects an adult who is not immunized, that adult can have worse problems than a child can have.”

Board member Dr. Mark Kissinger added, “I think some of the hesitancy is spill over from COVID, so you hit a lot of people that didn’t trust the COVID vaccine, and all of a sudden they cast doubt on the vaccines, which have been proven to be safe and effective for years.”

In other business:

∫ The board approved an agreement with the Mahoning Valley Pathways Hub, which would allow the health department to continue connecting female clients with pregnancy resources and services, through the hub’s network of care coordinators. The board also approved a 2025 agreement with the Ohio Department of Health Healthy Homes Awareness Month lead poisoning prevention grant program.

∫ The board accepted the resignation of registered nurse Courtney Griffith, effective Feb. 22, and approved hiring Lysaih Rice as a community health worker at a pay rate of $22 an hour, starting March 31. Rice is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor’s degree in health sciences management and has previous work experience at Coleman Health Services and the Jefferson County Community Action Council.

∫ The board approved Henry, Wilson and Nursing Director Kylie Smogonovich to attend the National Committee for Quality Assurance Health Quality Forum in Baltimore from April 7-8 at a total cost of $3,442.50, covering registration and lodging. The bill is fully covered by health equity training grant funds.

∫ The board approved 2025 revised budget appropriations, accounting for three recent grant line items that were not factored into the JCGHD’s 2025 budget last March. The board also approved the 2026 original budget, which is based on previous years’ appropriations, according to Kelly Wilson, administration and finance director.

∫ Henry reported that the Center for Marketing and Opinion Research has completed data collection for the Jefferson County Community Health Assessment survey and will soon finish a draft for parties to review. The health department and Trinity Health System, which are jointly developing a Community Health Improvement Plan using the research, provided messages about CHIP progress during the past years and about us info to CMOR, Henry said, and a stakeholder meeting will soon follow for data review and community needs discussion.

∫ Regarding accreditation progress, Henry reported the JCGHD is on deck for documentation review through the Public Health Accreditation Board, and another 90 days could pass before PHAB issues a final report following the review. Additionally, Henry said the JCGHD’s personnel policy manual needs updating, since its last update in 2018. That move would follow other policy updates the JCGHD has enacted throughout the accreditation process.

∫ Smogonovich reported that the health department successfully tested the lead levels of its first child using the department’s new lead testing machine. Additionally, she said the department received in-kind material donations from the Delta Dental Foundation: More than 600 toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, educational materials and coloring books, which will be provided to Jefferson County preschools in conjunction with lead education efforts.

∫ Environmental Health Director Marc Maragos reported there were 32 total calls made to the Apex Landfill odor complaint hotline in February, compared to 17 in January and six so far in March. He also reported that, beginning Tuesday morning, ODH was conducting a survey of the environmental division’s food service operations, with an exit interview expected Wednesday.

∫ Environmental Committee head Terry Bell said Amsterdam residents could benefit from piece of legislation making its way through Columbus that would reportedly offer $500,000 or more to county water departments to help pay for citizens’ tap-in fees for water or sewer systems. He also mentioned the Ohio Attorney General’s Shine a Light on Dumpers program, which offers surveillance equipment for litter prevention.