CDC says flu on the rise again in Georgia
Flu activity is rising in Georgia after a slight decline two weeks ago, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.
Nationally, the virus proved lethal as two pediatric deaths were reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its weekly flu report released Friday.
The CDC report did not identify the states where the children died, and CDC spokesman Tom Skinner could not immediately identify the states.
“In children, most complications from influenza infections are respiratory, such as pneumonia,” Dr. Andi Shane, professor of pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine, said in a statement. “This may be the result from the body’s overwhelming inflammatory response that is designed to kill the flu virus but can sometimes be misdirected causing inflammation in many organ systems.”
Patient visits to doctors for flu treatment accounted for 4.4 percent of all doctor visits for the week ending Jan. 26, the Georgia health department said in its weekly flu report also released Friday. That is a 0.5 percent increase from the previous week, when 3.9 percent of doctor visits in Georgia were attributed to the flu.
The rise in Georgia reflects the national uptick in patient visits to physicians for flu symptoms, according to the CDC report.
Georgia has remained high in flu activity this season. For the last three weeks, patient visits in the state have vacillated between 3.9 percent and 4.4 percent, a testament to the virus’ tenacity and unpredictability. The only southern states with low to moderate activity were Florida, Tennessee and West Virginia.
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Rosalind Bentley is an award-winning feature writer focusing on culture, arts and sometimes food, as they are expressed and experienced in Atlanta. She is a two-time James Beard Award finalist and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
