We are not epidemiology experts, but something tells us the US flu (or is that communist?) epidemic is getting worse, not better.
A week ago [3]:
[4]
And today (from Google [5]):
[6]
In other news, from USA Today [7]:
Flu activity remained high in the United States through Jan. 13 but is decreasing in some areas, numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Friday show. Twenty-nine children have died as a result of the flu since the season's start.
Although there's no national reporting system for adult flu-related deaths, the CDC said that 8.3% of deaths reported in its 122 Cities Mortality Reporting System were due to pneumonia and influenza. That's above the epidemic threshold of 7.2%. The rate of deaths linked to pneumonia and flu the week before was 7.3%.
Forty-eight states reported widespread geographic influenza activity, but the wave is beginning to wane in some areas, CDC said.
In other flu news, the company that makes Tamiflu, an antiviral drug used to lessen the severity of flu in those exposed to the virus, has released reserve stocks to lessen shortages in some parts of the country.
"With the addition of these reserve supplies, we anticipate having sufficient supply of Tamiflu capsules to meet demand for this flu season," spokeswoman Tara Iannuccillo said.
The liquid form of the drug, given to children because they can't easily swallow pills, has been difficult to find. Genentech, of South San Francisco, has worked with the Food and Drug Administration to get more 75-milligram capsules of the drug on the market in the United States, Iannuccillo said. Pharmacists can mix the contents of the capsules with a sweet liquid to make a drug that children can easily take.