NEW YORK (AP) -- Flu season in the U.S. is off to its earliest start in nearly a decade - and it could be a bad one.
Health
officials on Monday said suspected flu cases have jumped in five
Southern states, and the primary strain circulating tends to make people
sicker than other types. It is particularly hard on the elderly.
"It
looks like it's shaping up to be a bad flu season, but only time will
tell," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
The good news is that
the nation seems fairly well prepared, Frieden said. More than a third
of Americans have been vaccinated, and the vaccine formulated for this
year is well-matched to the strains of the virus seen so far, CDC
officials said.
Higher-than-normal reports of
flu have come in from Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and
Texas. An uptick like this usually doesn't happen until after Christmas.
Flu-related hospitalizations are also rising earlier than usual, and
there have already been two deaths in children.
Hospitals
and urgent care centers in northern Alabama have been bustling.
"Fortunately, the cases have been relatively mild," said Dr. Henry Wang,
an emergency medicine physician at the University of Alabama at
Birmingham.
It's not clear why the flu is showing up so early.
The
last time a conventional flu season started this early was the winter
of 2003-04, which proved to be one of the most lethal seasons in the
past 35 years, with more than 48,000 deaths. The dominant type of flu
back then was the same one seen this year.
One
key difference between then and now: In 2003-04, the vaccine was poorly
matched to the predominant flu strain. Also, there's more vaccine now,
and vaccination rates have risen for the general public and for key
groups such as pregnant women and health care workers.
An
estimated 112 million Americans have been vaccinated so far, the CDC
said. Flu vaccinations are recommended for everyone 6 months or older.
On average, about 24,000 Americans die each flu season, according to the CDC.
Flu
usually peaks in midwinter. Symptoms can include fever, cough, runny
nose, head and body aches and fatigue. Some people also suffer vomiting
and diarrhea, and some develop pneumonia or other severe complications.
A
strain of swine flu that hit in 2009 caused a wave of cases in the
spring and then again in the early fall. But that was considered a
unique type of flu, distinct from the conventional strains that
circulate every year.
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
