Pandemic flu infections throughout North Carolina are so widespread that doctors and hospitals are dealing with an outbreak more typical of January or February, when seasonal flu spikes.
And it's only September.
"Right now we're in the midst of a second wave," said Dr. Jeffrey Engel, state health director. He said this wave -- the first hit in May when the novel H1N1 erupted before tailing off in the summer -- is likely to remain at a peak for a while.
For the first week of September, the state reported 1,125 cases of flu-like illness through its network of doctors' offices, clinics and hospitals that participate in a surveillance system. Most of those illnesses are attributed to the H1N1 virus.
At its worst last winter, seasonal flu hit 719 people in North Carolina during one week in February.
Engel said he expects there will be a third wave of the pandemic flu, and it's likely to strike at the same time that seasonal flu begins circulating this winter.
As a result, he said, people should take advantage of vaccination programs, both for seasonal flu and the H1N1 strain. Engel said the state has received $23 million in federal funds to help counties conduct flu vaccine clinics for the pandemic strain, because the shots will have to be delivered separately from seasonal inoculations...
