Flu overblown, officials report

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With the flu outbreak in the area apparently at its peak, some health officials say the "crisis" is no bigger this year than in years past.

"[The flu] is not as big a problem as it seems," said Dr. Peter Beilenson, Baltimore city health commissioner, yesterday. "Every year, 10 [percent] to 20 percent of all Americans get the flu. We always have emergency rooms overloaded with flu patients in December, January and February."

About 15 percent of U.S. residents contract the flu and about 36,000 die of it each year. The season started early this year, health officials said, and the number of deaths is likely to equal those from last year. Fatalities generally are concentrated among the sick and elderly.

"There's been an immense amount of media hype that's fueling demand for the shot," Dr. Beilenson said, noting that Baltimore gave out 3,200 flu shots last year, while this year, the city will run out of 5,000 flu shots.

Dr. Beilenson also said that statistics on the number of flu cases should be taken with a grain of salt, because the vast majority of people who get the flu don't see a doctor or visit the hospital, and most hospitals don't test patients specifically for influenza.

Reports last week that 42 children had died nationwide of the virus fueled flu worries, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta didn't have comparable statistics to show whether flu-related child deaths were on the rise.

J.B. Hanson, spokesman for the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said he thought that the numbers, while tragic, are no higher than in past years and that this season's flu strain isn't singling out youngsters.

"This is not the children's flu. It's the flu, and this is the flu season," Mr. Hanson said.

Meanwhile, the last remaining flu shots in the D.C. area were doled out yesterday as health officials said influenza cases seem to have peaked.