Last spring, when the flu season is usually winding down, we had a "second flu season" brought to us by the novel H1N1 ("swine") flu. After school let out for the summer, the numbers declined, but not to the usual low summer rate. Now, as fall begins, flu is picking up again---fast. Pandemic swine flu is hitting our naive population fiercely.
From the CDC Red is this year
This graph clearly illustrates the high baseline during what would normally not be flu season, and the early peak which we are (hopefully) approaching.
This correlates with my own clinical experience. It's gonna be a busy season.
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