State: Flu cases in NC hit four-year high

RALEIGH (AP) — The number of flu cases in North Carolina has reached a four-year high.

The state released a surveillance report Thursday that showed 5.66 percent of patients reated at health care centers statewide had influenza-like illnesses.

That’s the highest rate since mid-December 2003, when 7.7 percent of patients were reported as having the flu.

The state asks 76 health care providers to report weekly how many patients have influenza symptoms. Symptoms include cough or sore throat and a body temperature of at least 100 degrees.

The report released Thursday covers hospital data for the week ending Feb. 15. The data helps state health officials track the illness.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)