MEMPHIS, Tenn. — As we brace for the cold weather, we’re also dealing with one of the worst flu epidemics in years.
Doctors in the Mid-South are seeing about 9,000 more patients than they saw in 2009, and that was the year of the swine flu.
Doctors at Lebonheur Children’s Hospital say it’s very possible things may not get better anytime soon, and they expect to see even more children in the next two weeks.
“This is the worst flu season so far that we’ve seen since the pandemic of 2009 which was the H1N1 Swine flu that we had seen,” John McCullers, pediatrician in chief at the hospital, said.
This flu season is scary for some parents like Stacey Rowland who has a 4-year-old.
So far doctors at Le Bonheur treated about 26,0000 patients between September and December of 2014 – much more than the number of patients they treated with the H1N1 in 2009, which was about 17,000 patients.
“I was concerned, we always try to get our flu shots, the whole family has been vaccinated, she’s been vaccinated so hopefully that’s going to take care of some of that,” Rowland said.
Even some people who got their flu shots still find themselves in the hospital.
McCullers says the good news is the flu isn’t as severe as the H1N1.
“We saw a lot of intensive care patients during 2009 and we’re seeing some of that but I don’t think it’s quite as bad as 2009,” he said.
There are other differences between the two.
“The 2009 virus was a pandemic strain that came out the animal reservoir so it came from swine called swine flu and it started in September and even a case in August and so that’s very unusual,” McCullers said.
McCullers says flu-like viruses spread during the colder months. His department learned a lot of lessons from 2009, and they’re more prepared to treat the patients coming into the emergency room with flu-like symptoms.
He says having a bigger facility and more physicians than they had five years ago helps.
All of those patients being treated don’t have flu-like symptoms, but a number of them do.
