FOLEY — Just because South Baldwin is close to the Gulf Coast doesn’t mean it’s immune from the flu.

Instead, the region has been just as infected as the rest of the nation, with South Baldwin Regional Medical Center’s emergency room seeing its share of patients in recent weeks.

However, Baldwin County Health Department officials say they believe the county, as a whole, is on the upswing from the illness, which runs from October to May in much of the nation.

“Nationally, the numbers are actually declining a little bit,” David Leggett of the Baldwin County Department of Public Health said in a phone interview.

He pointed out that although Alabama is among 47 states in the nation infected by the flu virus, the situation isn’t really that bad.

“It’s not like the thing with H1N1 a couple of years ago,” Leggett said.

Even South Baldwin Regional Medical Center staff members believe the situation is under control.

“Out of the 90 confirmed cases of the Flu this season only 15 were admitted to the hospital,” SBRMC Director of Infection Prevention Brandi Hamilton said in an online interview. “ In 2011 we did not have any admission due to the flu. We do have a dramatic increase in confirmed cases of the Flu but as you see from the low admission rate, most cases are able to be treated at home.”

She did point out that this flu season got an earlier start than expected in South Baldwin.

“We started seeing the flu in September this season compared to October or later from 2011 season,” Hamilton said.

According to Hamilton, the hospital confirmed nine flu cases in October. Then that number jumped to 49 in November and declined to 32 in December.

The hospital has yet to tally this month’s numbers. However, contrary to Leggett and Hamilton’s comments, state health officials say the flu seems to be on the rise throughout Alabama.

“Like many states in the nation, higher than normal levels of influenza activity are currently being reported in Alabama,” Dr. Tom Miller of the Alabama Department of Public Health said. “Influenza-like illness has been above Alabama’s threshold for significant activity for seven consecutive weeks.”

But they all agree that preventative measures can be taken to avoid catching the flu, which is transmitted through the air. With that in mind, Hamilton offers the following advice:

1. Wash your hands. Surfaces harbor the flu virus.

2. When you cough or sneeze, do it in the crook of you elbow.

3. If you feel sick and think you have the flu, stay home because you are considered to be contagious from one day prior to symptoms to up to four days after the symptoms disappear.

An additional precaution is the flu vaccine.

“Flu shots are still available,” Kim Taylor of the Baldwin County Health Department said.

Leggett pointed out that because the flue season can last anywhere from March until May, getting vaccinated is still a good idea.

“It’s not too late to be vaccinated,” he said, adding that the effects are not immediate. “It takes about two weeks to build up an immunity.”

The Baldwin County Department of Health has flu vaccinations available for $15 each. For more information, call 251-947-3618 or visit www.adph.org.