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The Baltimore Sun: Hospitals seeing large numbers of patients with flu symptoms
"...The number of cases at Hopkins already is more than double that of a typical year, Dugas said. Flu season usually peaks in mid-January or February but began increasing rapidly at the end of November, the earliest flu season since 2003, she noted.
...Dr. Jonathan Hansen, chair of emergency medicine at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center, said the virus is sickening patients longer and with more severe symptoms, including diarrhea and vomiting.
"The symptoms seem to be lingering for several days or weeks, forcing people to seek medical attention," he said. "Some years the symptoms are less pronounced, and this year it seems to be more severe."
Franklin Square, which has the Baltimore area's busiest emergency room, was treating 20 patients a day for flu-like symptoms the first week of December and has treated about 50 a day since Christmas, 10 percent more than in a typical year. The hospital is running low on flu tests and is testing only patients who might suffer complications because of other factors, such as old age, diabetes or other health problems.
"...The number of cases at Hopkins already is more than double that of a typical year, Dugas said. Flu season usually peaks in mid-January or February but began increasing rapidly at the end of November, the earliest flu season since 2003, she noted.
...Dr. Jonathan Hansen, chair of emergency medicine at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center, said the virus is sickening patients longer and with more severe symptoms, including diarrhea and vomiting.
"The symptoms seem to be lingering for several days or weeks, forcing people to seek medical attention," he said. "Some years the symptoms are less pronounced, and this year it seems to be more severe."
Franklin Square, which has the Baltimore area's busiest emergency room, was treating 20 patients a day for flu-like symptoms the first week of December and has treated about 50 a day since Christmas, 10 percent more than in a typical year. The hospital is running low on flu tests and is testing only patients who might suffer complications because of other factors, such as old age, diabetes or other health problems.
