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CDC reports this year's flu season was worst since 2003-04 killer

The Centers for Disease Control has issued a report that confirms what many of us already suspected, based on the morbidity and mortality charts.  That is, this year's flu season has proven to be the worst in the past four years.  Plus, the season is not over yet.  It is still underway in some parts of the United States.

We knew this was shaping up to be a bad year, just by studying the reported cases and overlaying them against traditional epidemic thresholds. the Associated Press is reporting that this year's flu season topped the epidemic threshold for thirteen consecutive weeks, as opposed to the 2003-04 season, where the epidemic threshold was topped for nine straight weeks.

What made 2003-04 such a bad flu season was the combination of unusual virulence of the virus(es), coupled with a shortage of vaccine.  Reverse that order and you may have a better answer.  Entire books have been written on the fiasco that was the 2003-04 vaccine shortage debacle.

So this year's flu season was longer, but slightly less lethal than 2003-04's.  Why was the vaccine such a bad match?  readers of this Blog know of the A/H3N2/Brisbane appearance in Australia this past summer, which took place well after the vaccine targets were set (annually, in February).  Also, there were other problems, I think moreso with the B strain of the vaccine.  There was a lot of B this year, and I assume that was the other vaccine failure (CDC says the vaccine was only 44% effective this year).  In fact, the CDC says the B strain was typed and presumably hatched in -- FLORIDA!  NOT Guangdong.  And not Indonesia.  Guess those tourists took more than a sunburn home with them!  By the way, we love you dearly, tourists.  To steal a line from Carlos Mencia, what are cars to you people?   Tourist Kryptonite?  Geez!

Here is a link to the AP story:

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080417/D903NHD81.html