But it’s not a particularly severe flu season this year
U.S. flu activity remains elevated, with about a dozen states projected to experience high influenza illness activity for the month of January, according to the CDC’s most recent FluView report.
Outpatient visits for influenza-like illness decreased from 3.5 percent to 3.1 percent for the week ending January 12, which is still above the national baseline of 2.2 percent. All 10 regions reported influenza-like illness at or above their region-specific baseline level.
The CDC reported over 3,500 laboratory-confirmed flu-associated hospitalizations between October 1 of last year through January 12. The overall flu-associated hospitalization rate was 12.4 per 100,000 population.
CDC representatives added that influenza A viruses have made the most people sick since the beginning of the flu season in October, but that the ‘flu season’ hasn’t been particularly severe thus far.
While all 10 regions were reporting elevated influenza activity by the end of the month, the CDC said influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 viruses have dominated in most areas of the country; however, influenza A (H3) viruses have been most common in the southeastern U.S.
