US in grip of FLU EPIDEMIC: America RAVAGED by outbreak worse than 2009 swine flu
THE United States is in the grip of a flu pandemic, which doctors say has seen the country ravaged by an outbreak worse than the 2009 swine flu. Shock graphs shows the infection rate of the H3N2 virus, also known as the Aussie flu, is at around eight percent – as bad as the swine flu epidemic from 2009 – as it spreads across 50 US states.
By REBECCA PERRING
Express.co.uk
Tue, Feb 20, 2018
Scientists at the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that the hospitalisation rate per 100,000 people was already hitting 59.9 after 18 weeks.
It took 25 weeks for the hospitalisation rate to reach that point during the deadly 2014-2015 season when 34 million Americans fell ill.
In that season, 710,000 people were admitted to hospital and 56,000 people died.
CDC director Dr Daniel Jernigan, said more Americans were seeking medical care for flu than at any time since the swine pandemic nearly a decade ago.
He said: “This is the highest level of activity recorded since the 2009 pandemic.”
All 50 states, excluding Hawaii, have reported “widespread” Aussie flu.
CDC revealed on Friday the deaths of 22 more children from flu-related causes.
The deaths bring the total number of children reported to have died to 84 since October, when the current flu season began.
Twelve-year-old Dylan Pinnock was named as the latest youngster to die from the virus after developing a fever.
The deadly flu also claimed the life of Karlie Illg Slaven, 37, who died in Indiana from a flu-related illness after looking after her two sick children.
The H3N2 virus is the most deadly “seasonal” strains of the deadly flu, which has been around for 50 years.
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