ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 18, 1997 TAG: 9704180070
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ATLANTA
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Outbreaks peaked in December, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.
The flu season is all but over after a particularly deadly visit believed to have claimed more than 20,000 lives across the nation.
Outbreaks reached 38 states. The culprit was a killer strain called Wuhan, a Type A flu virus that is traditionally responsible for large epidemics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.
The government does not have a final death tally, said Nancy Arden, a CDC epidemiologist.
``In an average season, flu is associated with about 20,000 deaths,'' she said. ``Based on the information we have so far, there will probably be more than 20,000 deaths this season.''
Most flu outbreaks this year were in nursing homes. The strain also swept through Europe and Asia.
The outbreaks peaked in December, followed by 10 weeks when deaths from pneumonia and flu soared above the government's expectations. They accounted for 9 percent of all deaths nationwide for that period, compared to a six-week stretch in 1995 in which 8 percent of all deaths were pegged to the illnesses.
Every year's vaccine is made of a cocktail of three killed viruses that the government thinks will be the most dangerous of the variations traveling the globe.
This year's vaccine protected against Type A-Wuhan, Type A-Texas and Type B flu. The CDC said Thursday that the Texas strain in next season's vaccine will be replaced with a variation called Bayern.
LENGTH: Short : 43 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB