US flu activity increased again in the last week, reaching the highest levels of influenza-like illness (ILI) so far during the 2018-19 flu season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its latest FluView update.
The ILI rate hit 5.1%, up from 4.8% reported in the previous week. Last year, ILI peaked at 7.5%—one of the highest rates in decades.
"Flu activity has been similar to what has been seen during other H1N1-predominant seasons, but indicators that track hospitalizations and deaths remain well below what was observed last season," the CDC said in an accompanying summary.
Last year during the same week, overall hospitalization rates were 78.8 per 100,000 people and at their peak. This year, that percentage is 27.4 hospitalizations per 100,000 people, up from 23.8 the previous week and likely still climbing.
Flu activity will likely remain elevated for several more weeks, the CDC said, adding that it is still beneficial for anyone over the age of 6 months to get a seasonal flu shot.
Flu widespread, more kids' deaths
The CDC said 48 states and Puerto Rico have reported widespread fly activity, the same number of states as during the previous week. All of the CDC's regions have been above their flu baselines for 7 weeks in a row.
The number of states experiencing high ILI rose by 4, to 30. The District of Columbia and 11 states reported moderate ILI, and 6 states reported low ILI.
As has been the trend all season, the highest hospitalization rates were among adults aged 65 years and older (75.6 per 100,000) followed by children younger than 5 years (40.2 per 100,000), and adults aged 50 to 64 years (37.7 per 100,000).
This week brought 7 pediatric flu deaths, raising the total to 41 flu-related pediatric deaths for the season. Four of the new deaths were attributed to 2009 H1N1, 1 to influenza B, and 2 to an influenza A virus that was not subtyped.
H1N1 still dominates, narrowly
Of all lab-tested influenza specimens reported to the CDC, 97.3% were influenza A viruses and 2.7% were influenza B viruses. Though H1N1 still dominates the season, more parts of the country are reporting H3N2.
Among samples collected by public health labs, 53.1% of influenza A viruses were H1N1, and 46.9% were H3N2.
See also:
Feb 22 CDC FluView
Feb 22 CDC FluView summary
