One of the worst flu seasons in a decade is putting further strains on an already sluggish U.S. economy as companies get slammed with increased health care costs and lower productivity from widespread worker absences.
On average, seasonal flu outbreaks cost U.S. employers $10.4 billion in direct costs of hospitalization and outpatient visits, according to the Centers for Disease Control. That doesn't include the indirect costs related to lost productivity and worker absenteeism.
But this year, that figure is expected to go much higher, as the flu virus has shown up in some 41 states with 29 of them reporting high or severe levels of sickness as thousands are flooding into hospital emergency rooms and doctor's offices.
"If this is a major influenza outbreak, like the Spanish flu of 1918, it could have a very significant effect on economic growth," said Timothy G. Nash professor in Free Market Economics at Northwood University. "If GDP is projected to be be 2 percent this year, the flu could cut that back to one half percent growth rate."
Keep reading: Major Flu Outbreak Threatens to Slow Economy Further.
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