© AP
It's so bad, the Nevada Red Cross is recommending Super Bowl partiers "huddle up" Sunday not only with friends and beer, but with "soap and disposable hand towels."
It's so bad that an ESPN report - revealing that the dreaded virus has stricken Philadelphia Eagles starters Tim Jernigan, Ronald Darby and Mychal Kendricks - set off a #flugate conspiracy-theory free-for-all on Twitter.
"Damn, Bill Belichick planting flu in our players now?" one ardent Eagles fan tweeted of the rival New England Patriots coach.
The country is experiencing the worst flu season in a decade, with no sign of slowing.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that the flu season continued to intensify the week ending Jan. 27.
One of every 14 visits to doctors and clinics nationwide that week was for symptoms of the flu - the highest level since the deadly swine flu pandemic in 2009.
In New York, the flu has been categorized as widespread for the eighth consecutive week, according to the state Health Department.
The week ending Jan. 27, there were 11,683 lab-confirmed influenza reports in the state, a 50 percent increase over the previous week.
The number of patients hospitalized with influenza was 2,221, a 21 percent increase over the previous week.
In New York City, 3,015 people have been hospitalized since the season began in October, 33 percent more than at this time last year.
Flu is widespread in 48 states, down from 49 last week, with only Oregon reporting less flu activity, the CDC said.
The child death toll is up to 53 - with 16 fatalities during the week ending Jan. 27. Eighty percent of those children had not had a flu shot, the CDC said.
Experts had thought this season might be bad, but its intensity has surprised most everyone because the flu usually peaks in February.
Dr. Anne Schuchat, CDC acting director, warned, "We are not out of the woods yet."
She urged people to wash their hands frequently and cover their mouth while coughing or sneezing.
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