BOSTON -- The flu outbreak that is sweeping the nation has arrived unusually early in Massachusetts and is hitting especially hard, state public health officials said yesterday.
The Department of Public Health declared that the flu outbreak had become "widespread," the highest level of outbreak as defined by the federal government. The state joins at least 26 other states that have declared such outbreaks.
So far, there have been just 14 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza in Massachusetts, but officials said that was probably just a small fraction of thousands of cases of the disease.
Worry over the disease has already propelled many sufferers to hospitals and clinics and sparked strong demand for vaccinations, with long lines forming for the shots in some areas.
At a meeting of the Public Health Council, officials recommended that people at high risk seek out the scarce flu shots and that healthy people between the ages of 5 and 49 consider FluMist, a new vaccine spray administered by a squirt up the nose.
Public Health Commissioner Christy Ferguson said there was no crisis, but officials were "very concerned" and were keeping a close eye on developments.
"Things could change in a very rapid way and we want to be on top of it as quickly as possible," she said. "Everyone should do everything they can to protect themselves from this virus."
Of the 14 confirmed cases, 12 are of a strain called H3N2, which emerged in 1968 and may result in pneumonia or death. One case is the so-called "Hong Kong" flu, and one had not yet been identified.
The state has not had any confirmed cases of the "Fujian" flu strain blamed for the deaths of at least 11 children in the western United States.
The flu's arrival was the earliest since 1976 and the outbreak looks as if it is the worst in at least five years, Department of Public Health spokeswoman Roseanne Pawelec said.
Massachusetts has so far seen one death reported from complications from the flu -- 18-year-old Worcester State College student Jeffrey Donahue, who died last week, officials said.
Pawelec said that, within the past two to three weeks, the severity of the outbreak in Massachusetts has swiftly progressed from "sporadic" to "local" to "regional" and finally arrived at the "widespread" category, with increasing flu activity reported in more than half the state's public health regions.
"It's indicative of more flu earlier in Massachusetts than we've seen in years past," she said.
Pawelec said officials believe "very little" vaccine remains in the state, but it was important for high-risk people -- a category that includes the elderly, babies, pregnant women and small children with other chronic conditions -- to get shots.
"We know it's frustrating. It's difficult. ... But it's important for people in high-risk categories to do what you can do, knock on more than one door to determine if you can still get a flu shot. It's that important. It's worth the effort," she said.
If people can't get a flu shot, public health officials said, they can protect themselves by taking commonsense precautions, such as washing their hands more often, not sharing cups or glasses, and avoiding close contact with crowds or people who have the flu.
Pawelec said this was "undeniably an unusual flu season." But she said it "bears repeating that healthy people get the flu every year and healthy people recover from the flu. It's the high-risk members of our population that have everyone concerned."
The department has set up an information hotline for the public and health care providers at 1-866-627-7968. Information is also available at www.mass.gov/dph.
