Officials in Maryland and Virginia report rise in flu-like illness
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Version 0 of 1. So far Washington’s winter has not seemed abnormally cold, but another chronic source of seasonal discontent has appeared less benign: the flu. In the most recent data available, flu was described as widespread by health officials in both Maryland and Virginia. In the week ending Dec. 21, the most recent for which data was available, the Maryland Department of Health said the state was experiencing a high intensity of flu-like illness. The proportion of outpatients who went to emergency departments in the state rose to 6.4 percent, the health department said. The Virginia Department of Health said 5.8 percent of visits to emergency rooms and urgent care centers were made for influenza-like illness. The figure appeared to be well above those for both last year and the year before In the District, 181 new flu cases were reported in the latest week, more than nine times the number for last year at this time. Local newsletters: Local headlines (8 a.m.) | Afternoon Buzz (4 p.m.) Like PostLocal on Facebook | Follow @postlocal on Twitter | Latest local news |