ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 31, 1997 TAG: 9701310078
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
Flu spread shows drop, CDC says
ATLANTA - After a fast start, the worst may be over for a flu strain that quickly spread fever, hacking coughs and death across the country.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that the number of states reporting widespread cases has started to drop.
``We saw activity begin earlier than usual and occur throughout the country within a relatively short time,'' said Nancy Arden, a CDC medical epidemiologist. ``Some flu epidemics spread slowly. But within a relatively short amount of time, we saw outbreaks all over the country.''
Wuhan, a flu strain that can kill the elderly but affects all age groups, was the culprit in 97 percent of the viruses sent to government labs.
The CDC has not determined the total number of deaths caused by the flu, but Arden said the percentage of people dying each week has outpaced CDC predictions through the middle of this month.
The flu usually kills about 20,000 people a year, but Wuhan-like strains can kill more than 40,000, Arden said.
The flu was flourishing in 38 states by mid-December, but only 31 states are reporting widespread cases now, the CDC said.
- Associated Press
Cadet tied to hazing resigns from Citadel
CHARLESTON, S.C. - One of 11 male Citadel cadets accused of hazing two female freshmen and facing school disciplinary action has resigned, the commandant of cadets said Thursday.
School officials also said 35 women have applied and 24 have been accepted for the class enrolling this summer. The state-supported military college dropped its all-male admissions policy in June and enrolled four women.
Jeanie Mentavlos of Charlotte, N.C., and Kim Messer of Clover did not return for the spring semester. They allege they were hazed and harassed, including having their clothes set afire and cleanser put in their mouths.
Interim college President Clifton Poole said 17 applications from women have arrived since Christmas and that the college would be pleased if it eventually had 200 women - about 10 percent of the corps.
- Associated Press
Lowery to resign as chief of SCLC
ATLANTA - The Rev. Joseph Lowery confirmed Thursday that he will step down in July as head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference after 20 years as leader of the Atlanta-based civil rights organization.
A search committee has been formed and is expected to launch a national search for a replacement for the 74-year-old Huntsville, Ala., native.
On Feb. 14, the SCLC will celebrate its 40th anniversary.
- Cox News Service
White supremacist faces indictment
PHILADELPHIA - One of the nation's leading white supremacists and four others were indicted Thursday on charges of conspiring to rob seven banks in the Midwest to bankroll their movement.
Mark Thomas, leader of the Aryan Nations in Pennsylvania and a minister in the white supremacist Christian Identity Movement, recruited gang members at his home in Macungie, a small town near Allentown, the indictment said.
Three others named Thursday were charged last year with robbing 22 banks of $250,000 over two years as members of the self-proclaimed ``Mid-Western Bank Bandits,'' also known as the Aryan Republican Army.
The gang's alleged ringleader, Peter Langan, 38, is standing trial in Columbus, Ohio.
The name of the fifth suspect, Michael W. Brescia, 24, has surfaced during the investigation into the Oklahoma City bombing. He once lived with a German citizen whom Timothy McVeigh tried to call 12 days before the terrorist attack.
- Associated Press
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