CDC Says Flu Season Still Going Strong

Flu levels in the U.S. remained elevated last week, with widespread activity reported in most of the country, according to the latest update provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nationally, the percentage of clinic visits for flulike illness declined from 3.5 to 3.1 percent but is still above the national baseline of 2.2 percent. At the state level, flulike activity, another measure of clinic visits, was classified as high in nine states: Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. One flu marker that rose was rate of flu hospitalizations, which rose from 9.1 to 12.4 per 100,000 population last week. The rate is highest in adults age 65 and older, with that number at 31.9 hospitalizations per 100,000 populations, followed by children ages 0 to 4 and adults ages 50 to 64. Additionally, three new pediatric flu deaths were reported to the CDC, bringing the total pediatric flu deaths for the current season to 19. CDC expects flu activity to remain elevated for a number of weeks and recommends an annual flu vaccine as the best way to protect against influenza and its potentially serious complications. Read the full update at CDC.