An intensifying flu season is filling hospital emergency rooms around the country and renewing pleas for people to get vaccinated.
"This is the worst flu season I've seen in all my practicing years," said Pat Meadors, emergency director at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital, who graduated from medical school 35 years ago.
In Albany, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo received a flu shot Thursday before TV cameras from the state health commissioner, Nirav Shah, who said it's not too late for flu shots to be effective. He said more than 19,000 flu cases have been reported in the state this flu season, compared with 4,000 a year earlier.
"Influenza activity is increasing," warned New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Farley, who asked sick people to visit a doctor's office rather than busy emergency rooms.
Two New York children have died from the flu, Shah said. State nursing homes have seen nine deaths. Among other states, Minnesota's death toll is 27; Pennsylvania, 22; South Carolina, 22; Massachusetts, 18; Indiana, 10; Oklahoma, eight; and Illinois, six. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will release national figures today.
Particularly hard-hit have been parts of the East, South and Midwest, said Michael Jhung of the the CDC. Flu has been slower to spread in the West and Southwest, he said.
This year's flu has been hitting select cities rather than spreading in a wider outbreak, says William Schaffner, professor at Vanderbilt School of Medicine in Nashville. He said this flu season is moderately severe but may seem worse because last year's flu season was the mildest on record.
One of the major strains in this year's flu mix hasn't been seen for five to nine years, and people's antibodies for it have waned, leaving them more vulnerable, said Arnold Monto, a University of Michigan epidemiology professor.
For those who fall ill, this year's flu can produce a head-burning, cough-wracked and muscle-aching illness that lasts as long as three weeks.
In Atlanta, Meadors said emergency room doctors are seeing particularly virulent illnesses that have strained hospital operations. She had the flu last month. "It's the worst I've ever felt in my life,'' she said.
In Kiefer, Okla., the small school system canceled Friday classes after 130 of 650 students called in sick Thursday and more went home sick during the day, said Steve Mathis, school district spokesman.
At Tulane Medical Center in New Orleans, Prateek Adhikari, head of the emergency department, said the number of influenza patients has soared from one or two a day to as many as 10. "It's the worst flu season I could personally recall," he said.
The CDC reported that in the last week of December, 7% of all U.S. deaths reported were due to influenza and pneumonia, just below the epidemic threshold of 7.1%.
Boston, which has more than 700 cases reported, has declared a public-health emergency. The city plans a free-vaccination campaign this weekend.
In New York and New Jersey, the flu has spread earlier and faster than at any time in the past decade. Every county in New Jersey is experiencing either a "high" or "moderate" level of activity, according to the state Health Department.
In Paterson, N.J., St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center logged a record number of emergency room visits Monday, but the volume has declined since then, said Mark Rosenberg, chairman of emergency medicine. He drew a distinction between this year's epidemic and some deadly ones of the past. "This flu kicks your butt, but it's not as deadly," he said. "We encourage people who think they have the flu to wear a mask if they're coming to the hospital, but it's less of a freak-out situation this time."
Contributing: Rick Hampson, Rick Jervis, Liz Szabo, Greg Toppo and Elizabeth Weise
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