Flu Season Hits Earlier Than Usual

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If you haven't suffered with it so far, count your blessings. Health officials say this flu season is shaping up to be one of the more severe in recent years.

According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), data now confirms it.

In the last week of December 2012, flu was widespread in 41 states; flu-related child and infant deaths climbed to 18 and outpatient visits for flu symptoms jumped to 5.6 percent, according to the CDC.

The CDC's Tom Skinner said people who come down with the flu can be pretty sick," with severe muscle aches and high-grade fever lasting 4 or 5 days.

For certain groups of people -- mainly children, the elderly, people with underlying health conditions -- it can be life-threatening, according to information from the CDC.

Most people who get the flu will have mild illnesses, will not need medical care or antiviral drugs, and will recover in less than two weeks. Other people, however, are more likely to get flu complications that result in being hospitalized and occasionally result in death.

Pneumonia, bronchitis, sinus infections and ear infections are examples of flu-related complications.

The flu also can worsen chronic health problems such as asthma and chronic congestive heart failure.

Though a Vaccine is reportedly well-matched to this year's flu strains, it's not 100 percent effective but reportedly will reduce the severity of the illness. The CDC advocates that it's worth getting a shot.

As of last week, more than 220 people suffering from the flu were treated at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, which is among Chicago-area hospitals experiencing a rush of flu symptoms, according to published reports.

This flu season is reportedly off to its earliest and most active start in nearly a decade.

"'Active is not even a strong enough word," said Paul Schreckenberger, a pathology professor at Loyola was quoted saying. "It's explosive."

Public health officials say the early outbreak is part of a national pattern this flu season. The season typically runs from mid-December through March and peaks during the second half of January.

Hospitals started seeing larger-than-expected numbers of people with the flu in early December 2012, and officials are not sure when this season will peak.

Influenza is a contagious respiratory sickness with symptoms that include fever, a cough, sore throat, runny nose and headaches. It is different from what people commonly refer to as the "stomach flu," which is more likely gastroenteritis.

The good news this year is that the strain of influenza going around is covered by the vaccines being administered, said Dr. Julie Morita, medical director for Chicago's health department.

What isn't clear is why this year's flu strain emerged so early and hit so many people.

"Probably one of the most predictable things about the flu is that it's unpredictable," Dr. Kimbra Bell, who works at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, said in a previous report. "We just don't know."

Some doctors say not enough people got flu shots before the season began, leading to the early rash of cases. Nationally, less than half of the population had been vaccinated by mid-November, according to the CDC.

By Deborah Bayliss

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