Twenty-four flights were canceled on Sunday and Monday after flu-stricken pilots and flight attendants working for Alaska Airlines called in sick.
According to Alaska spokeswoman Bobbie Egan, approximately 270 passengers were affected by canceled flights.
Off-duty pilots and flight attendants volunteered to work while their colleagues were out sick according to Egan.
The airline anticipates a less busy Tuesday, and says it probably won’t have to cancel any more flights due to illness.
Although flu season is usually at its worst in January or February, health officials in Pennsylvania report flu outbreaks in at least half of the regions of the state.
There have been nearly 1,200 cases of influenza between September 29 and December 21 with the worst hit areas in western Pennsylvania according to the State Health Department.
Last year’s flu season put 381,000 people in the hospital nationwide, which is the most since
2005 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Researchers have borrowed tools used by weather forecasters to create a system that could predict weeks in advance the peak of a city’s seasonal flu outbreak.
The scientists at Columbia University in New York say having greater advance warning of the timing and intensity of outbreaks could help cut down on the number of cases.
The system combines data from Google Flu Trends, which tracks search inquiries for flu related search information with data from the Centers for Disease Control. The system then estimates the number of flu-like illnesses that are likely to actually be cases of the flu.
The system will also have information about how the flu spreads through populations.
A study conducted in 2012 showed the system had a 60% accuracy rate in predicting the time and intensity of outbreaks.
The researchers say they plan to put the system online to allow people the chance to track the flu in their area.
A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association says that a flu shot helps seniors lower their risk of heart attacks and strokes.
The study followed more than 6,000 patients with an average age of 67. More than a third of the people in the survey suffered from some form of heart disease. Those who had been given a flu shot had an almost 2% less risk of a heart attack or stroke than those who did not take the injection.
“The study is important because it reconfirms that there are benefits to getting the flu vaccination,” Dr. David Frid of the Cleveland Clinic told Fox News. “In people who have recently had a cardiac event…it reduces the likelihood of their having some type of cardiovascular complication if they do develop the flu.”
The study was conducted specifically involving those who contracted the influenza virus and not the common cold.
Dr. Frid said that getting the flu does not directly cause heart disease but that the body’s stress from being sick from the flu can raise blood pressure and cause other cardiac complications.
A study published in the journal Nature Medicine says that scientists have made a huge jump forward in the search for a universal flu vaccine.
The flu virus mutates so much each year that flu vaccines from the previous year are completely worthless for the current year. The virus changes the proteins on the surface of the virus that tricks the body’s immune system. Continue reading
New York City Health Commissioner, Dr. Thomas Farley, on Thursday declared a flu epidemic in the city of New York.
“It’s a bad year,” Dr. Farley told reporters. “We’ve got lots of flu, it’s mainly type AH3N2, which tends to be a little more severe.” Continue reading
A massive flu outbreak has hit the United States overwhelming hospitals to the point some have had to set up tents to handle the number of patients.
Lehigh Valley Cedar Crest Hospital has tents set up outside the emergency room because of the “increased number of people with flu-like symptoms” according to staff members. Continue reading