CDC: Flu kills 93 kids; outbreak is declining

ATLANTA – The nation’s flu outbreak, which has killed 93 children so far this season, appears to be on the decline, federal officials said. In Maine, though, there has not yet been a decline.

The government said flu is now widespread in Maine and 37 other states, down from 42 last month. Colorado, which was one of the first states hit hard, dropped from the list of those with the worst outbreaks.

The flu season in the United States got off to an unusually early and harsh start, raising fears that this could be one of the deadliest seasons in years, especially among children.

In Maine, the flu season got off to a later start, and influenza accounted for 10 percent of health care provider visits last week, said Dr. Dora Anne Mills, director of the Maine Bureau of Health. “[The flu] does not yet appear to be declining here,” she said Thursday. So far, no children or young people have died in Maine.