On this date in 2003, Fargo-Moorhead hospitals were overwhelmed as a fast-spreading Influenza A outbreak filled clinics, triggered visitor restrictions, and signaled what officials warned could be one of the worst flu seasons in decades.

Here is the complete story as it appeared in the paper that day:

By Jeff Zent

A steady stream of coughers and wheezers filled waiting rooms at Fargo’s hospitals and walk-in clinics Friday.

The occasional case of influenza has become a “little epidemic,” said Dr. Ron Miller, a pediatrician at MeritCare Hospital.

“We think we’re on the cusp of an exponential rise,” Miller said. “The number of people coming in now is going up pretty dramatically.”

Doctors at MeritCare and Innovis Health are treating a growing number of people who have symptoms of Influe

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