FLU SPREADS FAST, BUT CALIFORNIA LAGS NUMBER OF STATES HIT HARD NEARLY DOUBLES IN PAST WEEK.

Byline: Staff and Wire Services

The number of states hit hard by the flu has nearly doubled to 24 in the past week, the government said Thursday as it rushed to ship 100,000 doses of the vaccine to combat shortages and head off what could become one of the worst flu seasons in years.

The outbreak has taken an enormous toll nationwide: At least 20 children have died. Schools have shut down. Emergency rooms have been filled with sick children. And doctors' offices have been forced to turn away droves of people seeking flu shots.

Some experts predict this year's death toll easily could surpass the annual average of 36,000 flu deaths. Health officials are unsure why the outbreak has hit so early, why it has caused so many problems in the West, and why it seems to be so lethal in children.

``If it were me, I'd be on the phone to your doctor, calling around to see if you could find some'' vaccine, said Dr. Randall Todd, Nevada's epidemiologist.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the flu has hit all 50 states at least sporadically, and the season has not yet peaked nationally. Nearly the entire western half of the country - California being the major exception - is now considered to have widespread flu. Last week, 13 states had widespread outbreaks.

Though the CDC has not added California to its list of states deemed hard hit by the virus, state officials still expect this to be one of the deadliest seasons in recent memory. State health officials say they are bracing for a more severe flu season than usual as cases are already mounting.

Reports from in and around Los Angeles are beginning to paint a picture of what may be to come.

Maureen Rens, 56, a food service worker at Canyon High in the Los Angeles County community of Santa Clarita, died Sunday after suffering from flu-like symptoms for close to a week. Coroner's officials are working to determine her cause of death.

Los Angeles County and local school officials say they expect the especially virulent flu virus to begin hitting local residents in the next few weeks.

``This is an early flu season in the rest of the state and it is expected that flu activity will be picking up here in the next few weeks,'' said Cheri Todoroff, immunization program director for the county health department.

Suzanne Rue, a communicable disease control nurse with the Los Angeles Unified School District, said absenteeism has risen up to 10 percent in some schools in the district, which is unusual for this time of year.

``We don't want to cause a panic,'' Rue said. ``That's not unusual when the flu does hit, but it's just earlier than it has been in the last couple of years. There are definitely indications that influenza is here.''

In nearby Ventura County, officials have documented 25 cases of flu so far, up from five last week, said Robert Levin, medical officer for Ventura County Public Health Agency.

Some schools in Simi Valley are reporting absence rates as high as 10 percent. In the Conejo Valley School District, which includes Thousand Oaks, the absenteeism is double the average. At Moorpark High school, the number of students complaining of illness has doubled from an average of 40 to 60 students a day to 80 students a day.

``This is rampant, like epidemic. It's the same at every school site,'' said Joan Kasparian, a nurse at the 2,400-student Moorpark High School.

The state Department of Health Services said 1,872 flu cases has been reported to it this year. Comparable figures for last year were not available.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said the government had arranged for 100,000 doses of adult vaccine to be shipped from Aventis Pasteur immediately and distributed based on each state's population. In addition, 150,000 doses of children's vaccine are expected to be shipped to the states by January, Thompson said.

The nation's two producers of flu shots reported last week that they had shipped their entire supply of about 80 million doses. However, Aventis had set aside 250,000 doses at the CDC's request last week when it became clear that shortages might develop.

Around the country, several schools closed because so many students are out with the flu.

In Colchester, Conn., the public Bacon Academy closed Thursday after more than 300 students - more than one-third of the student body - called out sick with flu-like symptoms. Madison Junior High in Mansfield, Ohio, also closed for the rest of the week after 250 of 900 students were out sick Wednesday, principal Timothy Rupert said.

On Thursday, the CDC added Arizona, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island and Virginia to the list of states with widespread flu activity.

Last week, only Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming were listed as having widespread activity by the CDC.

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Nearly half of 50 states hit hard with flu

SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Associated Press