RE: [Sndbox] Worst Yet To Come For Flu

[Angela]

No, no, no.....don't wanna hear this. So far, my kids are like 1 of the 30 out of a school of 300 that haven't had the flu, they also never had a flu shot....Every single kid that had his or her flu shot, wound up out of school for over a week with the flu.   Angela "We are all books of blood, wherever opened we are red"   -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]On Behalf Of Jen -- Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2004 10:54 AM To: 'The Sandbox Discussion List' Subject: [Sndbox] Worst Yet To Come For Flu CBS/AP) The flu season has tapered off in only a handful of states and has yet to reach its peak nationwide, federal health officials warned. At least five states — Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Washington and West Virginia — no longer have widespread outbreaks of flu, but 42 others still do, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. "It's definitely an epidemic," said CBS News Early Show Health Correspondent Dr. Emily Senay. The flu season in the United States got off to an unusually early and harsh start, raising fears that this could be one of the deadliest seasons in years, especially among children. "If you look at overall data from nationwide surveillance, it doesn't look like it's peaked yet," said Dr. Scott Harper, a CDC flu expert. "Nationwide, influenza-like illnesses are still on the rise." Child deaths from the flu also are increasing, Harper said. The CDC said it would not release details on such deaths until Thursday. But late last month, the agency said 42 children had died from the flu, about half of them under the age of 5. About 92 children under age 5 typically die each flu season, according to the CDC. Nationally, more people are visiting the doctor for flu-like illnesses. About 9.4 percent of all outpatient visits surveyed by the federal agency last week involved flu-like illnesses, up from 7.7 percent in the previous week and the highest rate so far this season. In addition, pneumonia and influenza accounted for a season-high 9 percent of deaths, up from 7.8 percent the previous week, in a survey of 122 U.S. cities. While the numbers are dropping a little, Senay says it's too early for optimism. "The last few weeks were the holidays, so the schools were closed, so maybe some of that decline was due to the fact that kids were not going to school," and not infecting each other, she said. "And let's not forget, there are other strains of the flu out there." The states listed as having widespread flu activity are: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Wisconsin, and Wyoming. City health departments in New York City and the District of Columbia also have reported widespread activity. "Believe it or not, it's not too late to get a flu shot, if you can find the shot," Senay said.     Jen --

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