Tagged: cdc

ATLANTA (AP/WMOT) — Health officials say the flu season is finally here, but so far few cases have been reported in Tennessee.

Until this month, there weren't enough cases in the U.S. to signal the start of the season. 

The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta says this is the slowest start to the flu season in nearly 25 years. Flu season usually starts in December or January. Often, it's half over by this point in the year.

Here in Tennessee, the CDC is calling the incidence of flu "sporadic."

Dr. Eric Clark is the Medical Director at Middle Tennessee State Student Health. He says that it’s not only been a very lite flu season, but may be an unusually short one as well.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee's death rate from drug overdoses has nearly tripled since 1999, a trend that state officials are hurrying to tackle with expanded regulations.

The proposals include one from Gov. Bill Haslam that would require doctors and pharmacists to consult a controlled substance database before writing or dispensing such prescriptions. State Sen. Ken Yager of Harriman tells The Tennessean he believes new state regulations will help reduce drug overdose deaths.

The legislature last year passed Yager's bill that imposed unprecedented regulations on pain management clinics.

The efforts come as a 2010 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that Tennessee ranked eighth nationally in drug overdose deaths.