I started to see influenza-like illnesses starting roughly
around mid-December, and within a week knew that 2013 was going
to be a bad year. In my 12 years of practice in Chicago, this
flu season definitely ranks as one of the worst I've seen.
However, I also see no reason to be alarmed that we have a
public health threat. What we are dealing with is a well-known
virus. This outbreak is worse than average due to, more than
anything, poor timing. There are three main factors to consider
in evaluating the intense flu activity across the country. One
is the virus itself. Both the medical community and the general
public alike worry someday we will encounter a "superbug." We
fear a virus that is extremely potent at causing disease,
replicating, resisting our treatment and killing the host.
Though the predominant strain this year may be slightly more
potent than average based on the number of cases we are seeing,
there is no indication that this virus is markedly different
from what we've seen in other years. The