Flu epidemic: By the end 50,000 WILL BE DEAD and it’s kids who are spreading it
A DEADLY flu epidemic spreading across the United States is likely to kill more than 50,000 people and is infecting people at a rate not seen since the 2009 swine flu pandemic, health officials have warned.
By HARVEY GAVIN
Express.co.uk
Mon, Jan 29, 2018
The disease is hitting America particularly hard this year, with cases reported across the entire mainland and an aggressive strain of the virus affecting a broader age range than usual.
And according to experts, the unusually high rates of infection are being driven by children returning to school after the Christmas holidays.
So far 37 children have died in America from a resistant strain of the virus, and government officials say the number could double before flu season is over.
Seven children died of flu just last week.
In an attempt to slow the spread, schools in at least 11 states have closed to disinfect buildings and quarantine children at home.
Latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows influenza activity remains high across large swathes of the country and mortality rates have spiked sharply.
The figures mean this year’s flu season is likely to be similar to the epidemic of late 2014 and early 2015, which hospitalised 710,000 people killed 56,000, according to the CDC.
Dan Jernigan, director of the influenza division at the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said: “This rapid increase in cases that we have been seeing is after the winter holidays, and while it’s among all ages, it’s higher in children.
“It looks like a big part of the later January activity is flu transmission from kids returning to school.”
Unlike previous flu seasons, this year’s outbreak is hitting the entire continental United States at once.
And while those over 65 typically make up the majority of hospitalisations, more people aged between 50 and 65 – known as baby boomers in the US – are being admitted this year.
Dr Jernigan added: “We often see different parts of the country light up at different times, but for the past three weeks the entire country has been experiencing lots of flu, all at the same time.
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