3:06 am - November 04, 2015
Pneumonia outbreak taking place
In the last two weeks of October, 21 cases of pneumonia were diagnosed at either Cooper Clinic or Mercy Hospital in Paris.
?Twenty-one cases in two weeks is incredible,? said Dr. Jason Richey, who practices medicine at Cooper Clinic.
Twelve of the cases were diagnosed at Mercy Hospital and nine were diagnosed at Cooper Clinic.
?That?s the most cases I?ve seen in the 15 years I?ve been here,? Dr. Richey said. ?People are a lot sicker, too. I?ve had three of the nine cases I saw hospitalized.?
Citing the Arkansas Department of Health, Dr. Richey also said this could be a year in which we see more cases of flu and pneumonia.
Why so many?
?I don?t really know why,? Dr. Richey said. ?Most of the cases we?ve seen so far are people under 65 and that?s very rare. I?d say we?re in the middle of an outbreak and people need to be very cautious about it.?
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