Flu Season Got Off to a Slow Start. But Now It ’s Widespread in Almost Half the Country

After a relatively slow start to flu season, influenza activity is now widespread in nearly half of U.S. states. Twenty-four states and Guam were reporting widespread influenza activity — meaning the virus has spread to many parts of the state, regardless of severity — as of Dec. 29, the latest date included in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) weekly flu report. Meanwhile, 19 states and New York City were reporting high levels of influenza-like illness activity, meaning a much higher-than-average proportion of doctor’s visits could be attributed to the flu. Nationally, about 4% of outpatient appointments were related to the flu during the week ending Dec. 29. Hospitalization rates associated with the flu remained relatively low, at 5.4 admissions per 100,000 people. Rates, however, were higher among young children and the elderly (14.5 and 11.9 hospitalizations per 100,000 people, respectively), as these populations are more susceptible to complications of the flu. Thirteen children have died from the flu so far this season. Although flu cases are climbing, the numbers are still well behind those reported at this time last year, when the nation was in the midst of one of its most severe flu seasons on record. At this point in the 2017-2018 flu season, 46 states were reporting widespread flu activity, there were 13.7 flu hospitalizations per 100,000 people and almost 6% of doctor’s visits were related to the flu. The severi...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized healthytime public health Source Type: news