Thursday, December 20, 2012

Seasonal Flu: Philidelphia Cough-and-cold season arrives suddenly, hits hard

December 20, 2012

After a run of topsy-turvy influenza seasons that included one pandemic and another with almost no flu, the new cough-and-cold season has arrived abruptly and in force.

Across the country, influenza-like illnesses are showing up at their earliest point in nearly a decade. Locally, pediatric hospitals are already experiencing some of their highest emergency-room volumes since the peak of the pandemic three years ago.

What is typically a one-two punch - various early-winter viruses followed by late-winter influenza - may be emerging in the Philadelphia region as simultaneous rises in the respiratory infection RSV and flu. Both hit young children hard.

Continued:  http://articles.philly.com/2012-12-19/news/35914596_1_pandemic-flu-predominant-flu-strain-rsv

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