ATLANTA: Though the flu season is barely under way, a harsh strain of influenza has already made an appearance this year in 17 states.
Through late November, health officials in three states reported outbreaks of the Beijing flu, and 14 states reported sporadic cases.
“When the predominant strain is the Beijing, a lot of the population tends to be susceptible,” said Nancy Arden, chief of influenza epidemiology for the Centers for Disease Control and Preventive in Atlanta, “Things seem to be happening little bit earlier than usual this season.”
Flu generally kills an average 20,000 people a year, Dr.Arden said. Federal health officials recommended that people at high risk of death from the flu, including the elderly, people with heart and lung diseases or those with immune deficiencies, be vaccinated.
The flu season typically begins in November. Outbreaks usually don’t occur until December or January. The season got off to a surprise start in August when Louisiana reported outbreaks of the Beijing flu in a nursing home and on a barge.
“It’s hard to say when we might see a peak of activity,” Ms. Arden said. “It remains very hard to predict.”
Last year’s season was dominated by the Type B flu strain, which is mild and typically infects children and young adults. Type A flu, which caused an epidemic in the United States in 1991 and crept into the end of the last flu season, 1s the harshest and: is most often deadly to the elderly and people with chronic diseases, Beijing is the worst strain of Type A flu,” Ms. Arden said. The C.D.C. said that it was not too late to get a flu shot for protection against this season’s strain.
The three states that reported outbreaks of the Beijing flu through Nov.23 were Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, The 14 states that reported sporadic cases were Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Louisiana, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas and West Virginia.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 17, 1993
