Flu Outbreak Hits Region Hard

This flu outbreak that has made so many people sick is particularly dangerous and contagious in children.

The Philadelphia Health Department reported 104 cases of flu last week, the largest number in several years, and it hit the Delaware Valley a month earlier than last year.

Children are especially vulnerable and health departments are saying if you suspect your child has the flu, call your doctor first instead of going to the emergency room where there may be a lot of people with the flu around.

So far the flu has closed at least two schools in the Delaware Valley, one of them was the Highland Academy in Galloway Twp in Atlantic County. Thirty of the eighty students were out sick yesterday because of the flu. Also closed was the West Chester Christian School in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

If you want a flu shot, Fed health officials have some good news: they have secured 375,000 doses of the vaccine and reached a deal with the maker of flu mist to allow health departments to buy the nasal vaccine at reduced prices.

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