Flu reaches epidemic proportions in the US
Source: Agencies |
January 13, 2013, Sunday
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Print Edition
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INFLUENZA has officially reached epidemic proportions in the United States, with 7.3 percent of deaths last week caused by pneumonia and the flu, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday.
The early start and fast spread of flu this season - especially after 2011-12's very mild outbreak - has overwhelmed doctors' offices and hospitals, forcing some patients to wait through the night to be seen.
Nine of the 10 US regions had "elevated" flu activity last week, confirming that seasonal flu has spread across the country and reached high levels several weeks before the usual late January or February high, CDC reported. Only one region - the Southwest and California - had "normal" flu activity last week.
Tens of thousands of Americans die every year from flu, even in non-epidemic years. The threshold for an epidemic is that it causes more than 7.2 percent of deaths, but as yet there is no definitive count of the total.
In Boston, flu cases are 10 times higher than last year, causing Mayor Thomas Menino to declare a public health emergency on Wednesday.
In Illinois, 24 hospitals struggling to cope with the flood of flu cases had to turn away people arriving in the emergency department, while in Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Valley Hospital outside Allentown has set up a tent for people who arrive with less severe flu.
A total of 20 children have died from this season's flu, up two from the previous week, the CDC said. That compares to 34 during the full 2011-12 flu season and 282 during the severe 2009-10 season.
The early start and fast spread of flu this season - especially after 2011-12's very mild outbreak - has overwhelmed doctors' offices and hospitals, forcing some patients to wait through the night to be seen.
Nine of the 10 US regions had "elevated" flu activity last week, confirming that seasonal flu has spread across the country and reached high levels several weeks before the usual late January or February high, CDC reported. Only one region - the Southwest and California - had "normal" flu activity last week.
Tens of thousands of Americans die every year from flu, even in non-epidemic years. The threshold for an epidemic is that it causes more than 7.2 percent of deaths, but as yet there is no definitive count of the total.
In Boston, flu cases are 10 times higher than last year, causing Mayor Thomas Menino to declare a public health emergency on Wednesday.
In Illinois, 24 hospitals struggling to cope with the flood of flu cases had to turn away people arriving in the emergency department, while in Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Valley Hospital outside Allentown has set up a tent for people who arrive with less severe flu.
A total of 20 children have died from this season's flu, up two from the previous week, the CDC said. That compares to 34 during the full 2011-12 flu season and 282 during the severe 2009-10 season.
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