With the onset of spring, flu season is also winding down and this time the health experts say it was a totally odd one.
According to the health experts and doctors, the number of cases reported this season was maximum from the young and middle-aged groups and the elderly, who are its traditional victims, had a mild encounter with the diseases.
Experts credit the surge in swine flu for the rise in numbers of young and middle-age adults getting affected by the diseases.
Generally, only one-third of the people who land in the hospital in the flu season are adults between age group 18 and 64. But this winter spoke a different story with two-thirds hospitalized were young and middle-aged adults. This season, most of the adults in hospital were obese or had another ailment.
Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, “The numbers are painful reminders that flu can be serious for anyone, not just infants and the very old.”
The revelations have been made by the CDC in its report, released on Thursday about the flu season.
Flu season started around mid-December, a bit earlier than usual, and apparently peaked by mid-January.
Among infectious diseases,
Flu is considered to be one of the leading killers in the United States. On average, about 24,000 Americans die each flu season, according to the CDC.
According to the health officials, symptoms indicative of the flu include fever, coughing, a sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headaches and fatigue. So, it’s better to have the flu shots.
High-risk people typically include seniors, children between the ages of six months (the earliest point at which flu vaccine is given) and five years, pregnant women and people with certain health conditions. Some also covered are people who care for these high-risk individuals and could transmit flu to them, though the list differs from province to province and people in doubt should check their health ministry’s website or ask a doctor.
