The holidays came with a side of the flu for many Americans, with 40 states reporting high or very high levels of the illness last week, according to a World Health Organization report. Latest government health data.
“There’s a lot of flu,” said Carrie Reed, Ph.D., of the CDC.
There are a number of diseases that cause fever, cough, sore throat, and other flu-like symptoms. The first is Covid-19. The other is RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, which is a common cause of cold-like symptoms but can be serious for infants and the elderly.
The CDC’s most recent hospitalization Data Other indicators show the flu virus is trending higher than other germs, Reed said. She added that several seasonal flu strains are behind the cases, with no strain being dominant.
Children’s hospitals have been busy since November with respiratory syncytial virus, but “influenza has now joined the party,” said Jason Newland, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
“Now we are really starting to move,” he added. “Our hospitals are busy.”
One indicator of influenza activity is the percentage of doctor’s office visits due to flu-like symptoms. This level last week was roughly equal to the peak of last winter’s respiratory virus season, which occurred at the same time of year. Reed noted that most people avoid medical appointments during the holidays if possible, so the data in late December may have been skewed by people who became suddenly ill.
Influenza activity last week was particularly intense in the southern, southwestern, and western United States. The states that reported less suffering were mostly in the northern Great Plains and New England.
To date, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there have been at least 5.3 million flu cases, 63,000 hospitalizations, and 2,700 deaths, including at least 11 children. It is not clear whether the winter respiratory virus season will be worse than others. Newland said it seems relatively typical so far, at least for children.
The CDC is also monitoring a rise in illness caused by norovirus, with 91 outbreaks reported in early December.
Investigators are also closely monitoring H5N1 type A avian influenza. The CDC says 66 human cases were reported in the United States last year, but none were reported in the past week.
Reed said the cases are “fairly sporadic” and the overall risk to the public remains low. Almost all cases have been traced through direct contact with infected animals, with no evidence of spread of the disease between humans.