‘We know it’s coming’: Deadly H1N1 flu strain a growing concern
Volusia, Flagler hospitals prepare for deadly H1N1 flu strain
By Skyler Swisher
News-journalonline.com
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
DAYTONA BEACH — A strain of flu that has been hitting younger adults particularly hard doesn’t appear to be circulating widely in Volusia and Flagler counties, but emergency rooms across the area are seeing more sick people coming through their doors, public health officials say.
Local hospitals are seeing an influx of flu-like illness, but so far, only a small percentage of flu specimens collected from Volusia and Flagler counties are the H1N1 strain, also known as swine flu, which has been blamed for numerous hospitalizations and deaths at UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville.
Now is the time to get vaccinated, though, because other counties are reporting severe cases of flu that have led to lengthy hospitalizations and even deaths in the young, said Dr. Bonnie Sorensen, director of the Volusia County Health Department.
“We are still relatively mild, but we know it’s coming,” she said.
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