US flu season off to an early start
CDC officials said there has been 1.7 million flu illnesses, 16,000 hospitalizations, and 900 flu-related deaths.
NEW YORK — The U.S. winter flu season is off to its earliest start in more than 15 years.
An early barrage of illness in the South has begun to spread more broadly, and there’s a decent chance flu season could peak much earlier than normal, health officials say.
The last flu season to rev up this early was in 2003-04 — a bad one. Some experts think the early start may mean a lot of suffering is in store, but others say it’s too early to tell.
“It really depends on what viruses are circulating. There’s not a predictable trend as far as if it’s early it’s going to be more severe, or later, less severe,” said Scott Epperson, who tracks flulike illnesses for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There are different types of flu viruses, and the one causing illnesses in most parts of the country is a surprise. It’s a version that normally doesn’t abound until March or April.
That virus isn’t as dangerous to older people — good news, since most flu hospitalizations and deaths each winter occur in the elderly. However, such viruses can be hard on children and people younger than 50.
Louisiana was the first state to get hit hard, with doctors there saying they began seeing large numbers of flu-like illnesses in October.
Children’s Hospital New Orleans has already seen more flu cases this fall than it saw all of last winter, said Dr. Toni Gross, the hospital’s chief of emergency medicine. Last month was the busiest ever at the hospital’s emergency department. Officials had to set up a triage system and add extra shifts, Gross said.
“It is definitely causing symptoms that will put you in bed for a week,” including fever, vomiting and diarrhea.
But the hospital has not had any deaths and is not seeing many serious complications, she said.
The CDC on Friday estimated that there have already been 1.7 million flu illnesses, 16,000 hospitalizations and 900 flu-related deaths nationally.
The most intense patient traffic had been occurring in a six states stretching from Texas to Georgia. But in new numbers released Friday, CDC officials said the number of states with intense activity rose last week to 12. Flu is widespread in 16 states.