Thursday, January 10, 2013

Seasonal Flu: Minnesota flu outbreak rivals deadly pandemic of 2009

January 10, 2013
Minnesota appears to be in the midst of the worst flu outbreak since the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, health officials said Wednesday.
A record number of children -- 123 -- tested positive for the flu at Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota in the first week of January, and 16 were hospitalized, according to Patsy Stinchfield, the director of infectious diseases.
The numbers, she said, are higher "than our highest week in the H1N1 pandemic.''
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New statewide numbers are expected to be released Thursday, but one Health Department official said Wednesday that more than 900 people have been hospitalized so far this season -- a big spike just in the past week. By comparison, only 552 people were hospitalized in Minnesota during the entire last flu season.

Continued:  http://www.startribune.com/local/186225331.html?refer=y

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