BEIJING FLU HITS AT END OF SEASON

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, February 26, 1993                   TAG: 9302260098
SECTION: NATL/INTL                    PAGE: A10   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: ATLANTA                                LENGTH: Short
BEIJING FLU HITS AT END OF SEASON
The harsh Beijing flu is rearing its head at the end of the flu season, meaning it's probably the strain that will dominate next winter.
"In nursing homes particularly, physicians need to be careful because . . . this Type A flu hits the elderly very hard," Dr. Ali Khan of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.
Although flu season generally winds down by mid-February, the bug's worst strain - Beijing flu, clinically known as Type A-H3N2 - began increasing last month, the CDC said.
Most flu cases this winter were the milder Type B, or Panama, flu, which affects mostly schoolchildren and young adults. From Sept. 27 through Jan. 16, Type A flu made up only 2 percent of flu cases, the CDC said.
But from Jan. 17 through Feb. 13, Type A flu made up 14 percent of cases, the CDC reported. Most were Beijing; a few others were another Type A strain, H1N1, which is somewhat milder than Beijing.
Type B flu still is the dominant strain this season, with cases in 43 states, the CDC said. Type A has been found in 29 states.
This has been a mild flu season, with hospitalizations and deaths remaining below expected rates, the CDC said. No exact figures were available.
- Associated Press
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB