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PICTURE OF THE WEEK: Flu Epidemic Spreads Across Nation

Last week the number of states severly affected by the flu rose from 13 to 24. The flu has mostly spread across the West, ranging from Washington to Texas and from California to Indiana.

The Center for Disease Control reports that it is investigating severe complications in children, as well as pregnant women.

Schools across the nation have reported high absentee rates, and some have even suspended classes due to so many students staying home with the flu. Schools in Trousdale County near Nashville, Tennessee were forced to close until Monday because so many students and teachers were sick with the flu.

Doctors with the National Institutes of Health say that this will bea particularly bad year for the flu, but we need not panic. They say that the only predictable thing about the flu is that it will hit each year, but no one ever knows where it will hit the hardest, whether it's in the United States, Europe, or elsewhere.

The flu's peak season is usually between late December and early March, but this year it began early, with the first cases being reported in October. Health experts disagree about whether this means that the season will peak earlier or if the epidemic will only get worse until those months.

The best defense against the flu is the flu shot, but it may be hard to find now that vaccine-makers have shipped the last of the shots to health care providers. However, the CDC is working hard to to redistribute what remains of the American stock of vaccines, and they are asking European drug companies to help out with what they can spare.

The flu shot is recommended for everyone over the age of 50, children and adults with respiratory ailments, infants ages 6 to 23 months, and pregnant women in their second and third trimesters. Since the flu shot may be hard to come by, the CDC also recommends FluMist, a more expensive, inhaled version of the vaccine.

Doctors recommend that people wash their hands frequently since the virus can be spread by touching items handled by an infected person. It is also spread by coughing and sneezing, and for this reason the flu spreads rapidly in places where people congregate, such as schools, offices, and nursing homes.

The influenza virus attacks the respiratory system, including the nose, throat, bronchial tubes, and lungs. Symptoms of the flu include a fever of over 100 degrees, body aches, chills, extreme fatigue, dry cough, sore throat, and nasal congestion.

--Written by Amanda Tassin

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