Georgia
Flu season may be spiking earlier in Georgia, experts warn
Georgia leads nation in flu-like sicknesses, CDC says
Flu season is spiking early this fall. Georgia leads the nation in flu-like sicknesses, in response to the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention.
ATLANTA – The flu season is spiking early this fall. Georgia leads the nation in flu-like sicknesses in response to the Facilities for Illness Management.
Hospitals like Kids’s Healthcare of Atlanta say they’re seeing as much as 3 times as many sufferers of their emergency rooms. Medical specialists say flu season is right here quite a bit prior to traditional.
“We’re seeing it very early,” stated Rosie Carr, a registered nurse. “It normally begins on the finish of November once you begin seeing a number of flu instances. The flu is on the rise.”
Georgia and Washington D.C., report excessive flu exercise in response to the facilities for illness management. Most different areas report low flu exercise.
“I’m seeing the place they’re getting very sick. They’re even getting hospitalized with extreme physique aches, shortness of breath,” Carr stated.
“There’s little doubt there’s a rise within the variety of flu instances,” stated Dr. Cecil Bennett, Medical Director for Newnan Household Drugs and Associates. He says he’s seeing a surge within the flu different respiratory viruses, together with the frequent chilly on high of COVID. “Often sufferers are available in with run-of-the-mill signs, cough, congestion, headache, fever.
“We’re additionally in bronchial asthma season. I feel that is also enjoying a task within the variety of adults and youngsters who’re having extreme reactions to this flu season,” Dr. Bennett stated.
Officers at Kids’s Healthcare of Atlanta say they’re seeing an unprecedented variety of sufferers of their emergency rooms. Dr. Bennett says metro Atlanta hospitals, already strained through the pandemic, could possibly be in for a troublesome flu season, particularly since Wellstar introduced it’s closing Atlanta Medical Middle.
“Having one much less hospital within the system doesn’t assist in any respect,” Dr. Bennett stated.
Medical specialists advocate you wash your arms, keep away from touching your nostril and mouth, put on a masks if you wish to take further precautions and get a flu shot.