UPDATE: UAMS working to contain flu in patients

A very uncommon illness this time of the year is located in many patients at a Little Rock hospital: the flu.

The Arkansas State Health Department and Center for Disease Control are investing 31 cases of the flu coming from a cancer treatment center at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Twenty-nine patients and one family member have tested positive for this strain, but now the goal is to make sure it doesn't spread to others.

Spanning a week and a half, patients being treated for myeloma, which is cancer of plasma cells, began testing positive for flu type-A as well.

"These patients have immunocompromised systems, so it's not unusual for them to come down with something like this, but it is unusual to have that many in August," said UAMS spokesperson Leslie Taylor.

Taylor said people working directly with these patients are being asked to wear masks, and wash their hands frequently. So far, no employees are displaying positive signs of the flu.

"We've been able to contain it with Tamaflu, it seems to be working very well. We are going to have the flu vaccine as of Wednesday, and we'll offer that to our employees in that area," Taylor added.

UAMS is one of the nation's leaders for treating this myeloma, with a list of patients from various parts of the world. This is one reason the CDC is working to see where it might have started.

"To kind of go back and see when we first detected this and work with them. We understand that there have been some other cases around the country, so we're just trying to track down where this came from," Taylor said of the investigation.

UAMS maintains no new cases have popped up in the last few days, and that the one family member remains the only non-patient to be suffering from this flu right now.

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) - Nearly three dozen patients at UAMS contracted the flu while at the hospital, according to the Arkansas Department of Health.

A spokesperson for ADH told Channel 7 News the flu was found in 30 people during a routine test. Authorities are still investigating where the infection started, though they said that all of the infected patients had all been in the same area of the hospital so they believe the infection will remain confined to that small area.

UAMS reports 29 of the flu cases came in cancer patients being treated for myeloma, while one case was found in a patient's family member.

Investigators said the infected tested positive for the H3N2 strain, which is considered an average strain that is well matched to this season's vaccine and responds well to anti-viral drugs.

All those who are at risk are being treated with Tamiflu. Others are being vaccinated.

Authorities said there is no reason to think it is elsewhere in the state but ADH still sent out an alert across the state to doctors offices to consider flu as a potential cause for sickness this time of year. They also asked that anyone finding pockets of infection in other areas of the state to let them know and send samples from patients so they can better track the source.