"Experts Raise Concerns Flu Could Reach Epidemic Levels" – Gio Benitez
Emergency rooms across the nation are filling up with the rate of flu hospitalizations doubling in just one week. The CDC said this year’s dominant strain, H3N2, is known to be especially dangerous, making its victims much sicker and at a faster rate than other types of flu. “Historically, the flu has been associated with a high instance of mortality, both in the elderly population and in the very young population,” said Peter Shearer, MD, assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and medical director of the emergency department at The Mount Sinai Hospital. Some public health officials fear this is just the beginning. California has already been hit especially hard with 124 deaths across San Diego and Los Angeles counties alone. One of the things the emergency department at the Mount Sinai Hospital is doing for very sick patients admitted to the hospital is a DNA test to see what kind of flu they have.
- Peter Shearer, MD, Assistant Professor, Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Medical Director, Emergency Department, The Mount Sinai Hospital
Additional coverage:
ABC News: World News Tonight