NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. flu season is underway, with at least seven states reporting high levels of illnesses and cases rising in other parts of the country, health officials say.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted new flu data on Friday, showing very high activity last week in Louisiana, and high activity in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, New Mexico and South Carolina. It was also high in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, the U.S. territory where health officials declared an influenza epidemic earlier this month.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
“We’re off to the races,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University infectious diseases expert
Traditionally, the winter flu season ramps up in December or January. But it took off in October last year, and is making a November entrance this year.
Flu activity was moderate but rising in New York City, Arkansas, California, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. And while flu activity has been high in Alaska for weeks, the state did not report data last week, so it wasn’t part of the latest count.
Tracking during flu season relies in part on reports of people with flu-like symptoms who go to doctor’s offices or hospitals; many people with the flu are not tested, so their infections aren’t lab-confirmed. COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses can sometimes muddy the picture.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Alicia Budd, who leads the CDC’s flu surveillance team, said several indicators are showing “continued increases” in…
Read the full article here
