Local lab sees spike in testing for flu, other illnesses

Liverpool (WSYR-TV) - 47 states are reporting cases of the flu in what is being called the worst outbreak in a decade.

Tracking the virus has become more than a full-time job. Lab workers at Laboratory Alliance in Liverpool are testing specimens around the clock and getting results back to doctors. 10 million samples of different kinds of sicknesses go through the lab each year.

In recent months, they've seen a dramatic increase in testing for influenza.

The lab conducted more influenza testing in December 2012 than it ever has in year's past.

But influenza is just one of the illnesses doctors are seeing more of this year.

Laboratory Alliance staff members say they are seeing more Pertussis – or whooping cough.

They say the illness has kept them busy since last March, with an increase of several hundred percent in the work load for Pertussis testing.

Because of the extra cases, flu testing kits are in short supply at laboratories across the country.

To learn more about the flu, tune in to NewsChannel 9 at 3 p.m. on Friday when Dr. Oz will answer questions and offer a look at how the illness is impacting his own hospital in New York City.