Doctors warn of possible ‘perfect storm’ flu season as post-holiday spike looms
ST. LOUIS (KMOV/Gray News) — Doctors said this year’s flu season could be shaping up to be one of the worst in recent memory, and the next two weeks may show just how bad it gets.
Dr. Stephen Lawrence, a professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Washington University School of Medicine, said he is seeing “a really big increase, almost an explosive increase in the number of influenza cases.”
Lawrence said a new variant known as subclade K, sometimes called “K flu,” is adding to the concern. It is a mutated strain that can make the vaccine a less perfect match in some years.
“About one out of every three years or so, [the virus] changes in a way that the vaccine doesn’t work quite as well,” he said.
Even so, Lawrence said the flu shot remains the best protection available, especially for reducing the risk of severe illness.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates this flu season has already caused at least 7.5 million illnesses, 81,000 hospitalizations and 3,100 deaths nationwide.
Lawrence said the next few weeks of post-holiday data will help determine whether this becomes a particularly severe flu season.
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