State health officials say severe flu season ahead for Hoosiers

INDIANAPOLIS -- Public health officials are warning that Indiana may be in for a severe flu season.\nState Health Commissioner Greg Wilson said Tuesday the flu may be more severe than usual this year and could affect a broader range of age groups. Several residents have already been hospitalized with the flu.\nYoung children may be more at risk this season. Officials suggested that parents consult their doctor about getting flu shots for children who are six months to 23 months old. Parents and siblings of young children should also consider the shots, Wilson said in a news release.\nThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said flu viruses are circulating at a higher level than usual at this time of year.\nThe flu strain that doctors are seeing is part of a class of viruses that caused severe outbreaks in the United States in the 1990s.\nThe state does not track the number of cases of influenza in Indiana but relies on a network of 25 physicians to send in specimens of suspected cases.\nIn an average year, influenza infects up to 20 percent of the U.S. population. Last year, 1,206 Hoosiers older than 65 died from flu and pneumonia.