The CDC has announced that the US is officially in the clutches of a flu epidemic.
The CDC has announced that the US is officially in the clutches of a flu epidemic.
Their declaration comes in the wake of 15 deaths among children and increased hospitalizations, particularly in young and old age groups.
Over the last week the number of states reporting high instances of the illness has jumped from 13 to 22.
Most of them are in the South, Midwest, and western parts of the country.
As to why it’s concentrated in the areas it is, experts aren’t entirely sure.
They do know that the virus strain causing the most problems is the H3N2 subtype, with it accounting for around 90 percent of all known cases.
Tennessee has been particularly hard hit this year, especially among its younger residents.
No less than 6 pediatric cases have ended in fatalities and in December alone the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital has seen nearly 450 flu patients.
Typically, flu season doesn’t reach its height until February or March, but according to the ABC News chief health and medical editor, in recent years the peak has occurred much earlier.
