Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 18, 1994 TAG: 9402180039
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ATLANTA LENGTH: Short
By the week ending Feb. 5, the number of states with widespread influenza outbreaks went down to six from 13 the week before, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"We're not sure when the peak was, probably in early January," said Nancy Arden, the CDC's chief of influenza epidemiology. There is no way to know how much longer the flu season will last, she said.
States that reported widespread outbreaks by the week ending Feb. 5 were Alaska, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia, though the flu was waning in those states, as well.
The flu season generally begins in November, and outbreaks usually don't occur until December or January. This season began early and was dominated by cases of the harsh type A Beijing strain that particularly threatened the elderly and the very young.
The CDC did not yet have the number of flu cases and deaths this season but said fewer people than projected caught the flu.
More people got flu shots. Many nursing homes reported about 95 percent of their residents were vaccinated this year, the first flu season that Medicare paid for it, Arden said. And many large companies provide flu shots for employees.
by CNB