Worst Flu Season For Children In A Decade Slams California

LOS ANGELES, CA — This winter’s flu season is on track to be one of the worst in more than a decade, and it hasn’t peaked yet, according to health officials. The most recent reporting week ending Feb. 8 was a particularly deadly week for the flu outbreak in California with 62 people dying from influenza.

The flu season started early last year, and experts believe there is reason to expect it to last well into the spring, hitting younger people particularly hard. During the first week of this month, three children died from the flu, bringing the state’s pediatric death total to 12 so far this season. Nationally, the number of child fatalities — 92 — is the worst since the nasty flu season of 2009-10, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Health officials say it's the double-barreled hit of the Influenza A and B strains causing so many illnesses this year. And Influenza B, which hits young people harder, tends to stick around longer into the spring.

“We have not yet peaked for influenza. We are still on our way up,” Dr. David Weber, a University of North Carolina infectious-diseases specialist, told the Los Angeles Times.

So far this season, 14,000 people in the U.S. have died due to flu-related illnesses and complications, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An estimated 26 million people have been stricken with the flu, and of those, 250,000 required hospitalization.

The percentage of virus specimens testing positive for influenza was 28.3 percent this week.
This week, cases tested positive for Influenza A at 70 percent compared to Influenza B, which comprised 30 percent of cases statewide. This is a notable change, as B strains dominated the first several weeks. But Influenza B maywell still be a threat because it’s the one that tends to last longer into the spring months.

Typically, the groups most at risk of the flu are older adults, very young children, pregnant women and those with certain chronic medical conditions.

According to the CDC, symptoms of the flu include:

• Fever or feeling feverish/chills (though not everyone with flu will have a fever)
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Muscle or body aches
• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.

The flu is a highly contagious illness, which is why the CDC urges everyone to take the following steps to protect themselves and others:

• Take time to get a flu shot: While there are many different flu viruses, a flu vaccine protects against the viruses that research suggests will be most common. The CDC says it’s not too late to get this year’s vaccine.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
• While sick, limit contact with others as much as possible to keep from infecting them.
• If you are sick with flu symptoms, you should stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone for 24 hours without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.)
• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with germs such as the flu.
• Take flu antiviral drugs if your doctor prescribes them.