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15 Children Dead from the Flu This Season

| December 30, 2014 Comment

15 Children Dead from Flu This Season – According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, influenza has already taken a heavy toll, with 15 children dying from the virus.

Twenty-two states are seeing a large number of flu cases, and at 6.8% cases nationwide, influenza is officially at an epidemic level in the US. The Southwest and Midwest states have been hit the most. According to the latest reports, three people have died of the flu in Nashville, Tennessee, this month.

Ninety percent of those affected have the new H3N2 strain, a new mutation which appeared after the season’s flu vaccines had already been prepared and shipped out, rendering the vaccine pretty much ineffective. Doctors are , however, still recommending it, as they think that it offers some protection and can help cut down the intensity and duration and thus reduce complications like pneumonia and hospitalizations. The very young and the elderly are more susceptible to the virus.

The CDC is asking doctors to consider prescribing antiviral flu medication at the onset of the illness to prevent complications.

 

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