• Robbery suspect nabbed after going to hospital with flu

    South Windsor Police Department

    Nathaniel Chambers was taken into custody after seeking treatment for the flu at the Veterans Hospital in West Haven, Conn.

    By Stephanie O'Connell, NBCConnecticut.com

    A suspect in a violent assault and robbery was arrested after seeking treatment for the flu at a Connecticut hospital, police said.

    Staff at Veterans Hospital in West Haven, Conn., learned that a warrant had been issued for Nathaniel Chambers in connection with an incident which left two men seriously wounded.

    Chambers was held until he was healthy enough to be released into the custody of South Windsor Police.

    More news from NBCConnecticut.com

    Chambers, of Meriden, Conn., was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery in the first degree and conspiracy to commit assault in the first degree.

    He was being held on $250,000 bond and was due to appear in Manchester court on Wednesday.

     

     

  • Catholic churches adjust Holy Communion to guard against flu

    Some Catholic parishes are changing communion and other Mass rituals in an effort to avoid spreading flu germs. WJAR's Mario Hilario reports.

    By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News

    Even Holy Communion is not immune from the flu.

    Some Catholic Churches across the country have stopped offering parishioners wine from a shared chalice to prevent germs from spreading as the flu continues to plague most of the nation.

    And that's not the only change worshippers may see at Mass.

    "To refrain from shaking hands during rite of peace, I invited them to just turn and verbally exchange a greeting," Msgr. John Darcy of St. Sebastian Church in Providence, R.I., told WJAR.


    The New York Archdiocese sent out its annual flu-season reminder Monday, asking pastors in its 400 parishes to take "common-sense precautions" such as frequent hand-washing or holding back the chalice as they see fit, spokesman Joseph Zwilling said.

    In Abilene, Texas, the pastor of Holy Family Church announced last weekend that there would be no drinking from the cup or hand-shaking.

    Without prompting, parishioners who normally hold hands during the singing of the Lord's Prayer chose not to, said church business manager Gail Wheeler.

    "People are very understanding," she said. "We have a lot of elderly people in our parish and a lot of families with young children."

    Some religious leaders said they make adjustments for the flu every year. Others said that this year's particularly bad outbreak had led them to tinker with the rituals -- much like sports teams abandoned post-game handshakes during the H1N1 pandemic in 2009.

    The virus has already killed 20 children this season and put thousands of people in the hospital. Federal officials have said they are optimistic the number of cases will drop off soon, but noted that the flu is unpredictable and could spike again this winter.

    While many churches received directives from their diocesan leaders, at least one priest got advice from a more secular source.

    Father Brian Kaskie of St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in McComb, Miss., said he was at a routine medical appointment three weeks ago when his doctor suggested he take steps to protect his flock.

    "We were on the front end of it," said Kaskie, who won't offer the chalice until the outbreak is over. "We didn't wait on the bishop."

    The flu has shown up in just about every state and many hospitals are overloaded with sick patients. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the virus's ability to morph into new forms makes it difficult to develop full immunity. NBC's Tom Costello reports.

     

  • Bad flu season worsens as Boston declares emergency

    Boston Mayor Thomas Menino declares a public health emergency after facing a surge in flu cases, as health officials around the US scramble to cope with the rising number of patients. NBC's Mark Barger reports.

    By JoNel Aleccia, Senior Writer, NBC News

    The nation's severe flu season continued to worsen Wednesday, with reports of hospitals overflowing with sick patients and at least one major U.S. city declaring an influenza emergency and urging citizens to get vaccinated before the peak is reached.

    In Boston, Mayor Thomas Menino declared a public health emergency because of a sharp rise in cases. That city has seen about 700 confirmed cases of influenza since the season began in October, a 10-fold jump over the 70 cases reported for all of last year, said Nick Martin, a spokesman for the Boston Public Health Commission.

    While last year was an unusually mild flu season, according to government health officials, this year's numbers are worrisome, the city's mayor said.

    "This is the worst flu season we've seen since 2009, and people should take the threat of flu seriously," Menino said in a news release. "This is not only a health concern, but also an economic concern for families, and I'm urging residents to get vaccinated if they haven't already. It's the best thing you can do to protect yourself and your family.  If you're sick, please stay home from work or school."

    Flu cases have accounted for more than 4 percent of Boston emergency room visits recently, and about a quarter of those patients have required hospitalization, said Martin. The city has recorded four deaths since October, Martin said. All of those deaths were in elderly people. Community health clinics will offer free flu shots to citizens this weekend, Martin added.

    Nationwide, the flu has spread to more than 80 percent of the U.S., latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated. More than 2,200 people had been hospitalized since October, and 18 children have died. Other viruses besides the flu are also circulating -- CDC data shows only about a third of all people with flu-like symptoms actually are testing positive for influenza.

    The severe season, the earliest in nearly a decade, is starting to strain hospitals across the country. In Milwaukee, emergency departments have been forced to divert incoming ambulances to other hospitals because they've been flooded with older patients with severe flu-like symptoms, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper. Several of Milwaukee's 11 hospitals have reported so-called "rolling diversions" because of flu patients, the paper reported.

    In Delaware, the Christiana Care Health System has expanded its emergency room into a nearby conference room to accommodate the jump in flu cases, officials told NBC News.

    The bad season has been blamed on an especially virulent flu strain, the A H3N2 strain. Another A strain, H1N1, and two influenza B strains are also causing illness. Vaccines prepared for this year are a good match for three of the viruses, although one strain of influenza B is not covered by the vaccine and may be accounting for 8 percent to 10 percent of flu cases, according to infectious disease experts.  

    It can take two weeks for the flu shot to provide full protection, and in the interim, people may still get sick, health officials caution. The shots don't provide 100 percent protection, only between 65 percent and 80 percent in a healthy person, but they can lessen the severity and duration of symptoms. The earlier people get shots, the sooner they'll be protected, health officials add.

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