Maine Flu Season Could be One of The Worst

The data analytics on how bad a flu season will/might be aren't released until late fall from the US CDC so scientists have enough time to collect data from around the country. That being said, some experts are already indicating some 'troubling signs'.

According to the KJ,

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported the first confirmed flu illnesses this week – although there are no official numbers yet. In the 2018-19 flu season, Maine had 10,418 confirmed cases of the flu and 48 flu-related deaths, compared to 9,050 cases and 82 deaths in 2017-18.

Director of the Maine CDC, Dr. Nirav Shah, reported that the severity of the flu season in Australia should be viewed as an "early indicator" that it could be an aggressive flu season here in the US. The KJ also goes on to report that there was already a pediatric flu-related death in California back in September and that that it is particularly early to be seeing flu-related deaths.

The flu season runs from October right through May and according to the Mayo Clinic,

"Getting a flu shot often protects you from coming down with the flu. And although the flu shot doesn't always provide total protection, it's worth getting."

Influenza is defined as a highly contagious viral infection of the respiratory passages causing fever, severe aching, and catarrh, and often occurring in epidemics.

Influenza has already had confirmed cases in Maine this season.