randy tarticoff is battling against the tide. we re all a little overwhelmed, not only the practitioners, but the caregivers in general. reporter: numbers are so great, he isn t even administering flu tests but handing out treatment. a lot of what we do is simple supportive care, making them feel better. reporter: the most vulnerable patients, children and the elderly. but this flu can also have deadly consequences for healthy adults. strong immune systems can sometimes overreact and destroy healthy tissues along with the flu itself. this year, there s a double threat. not only is flu rampant, so is a nasty stomach bug called the norovirus. now widespread throughout the country. it s also very contagious, and another serious concern for hospitals. a perfect storm of sickness, which is why 45,000 people in boston got an automated call from the city. residents who have not been varx vaccinated against
before all of that, this year s fierce outbreak of the flu is forcing even more communities to take action. outside of tulsa, oklahoma, no one is going to school today because a quarter of the students are already sick. the extreme measures are keeping big city hospitals busy. as abc s linsey davis reports. reporter: all day long, dr. ron walls is rushing down the hall. a squirt of hand sanitizer and he s off to battle more flu. it s going to take you two or three weeks to feel really good again. reporter: he s wearing a face mask because he can t afford to be sick. not now with bringham hospital overrun with flu case s this patient has been battling the flu for ten days now. you ve been coughing a lot? yes. what are you bringing up with the cough? reporter: while we were there, the cases mounted. so much so, the hospital sounded an all hands on deck code amber alert. it s basically a disaster notification that we use when we have a large number of things to deal with