Small increases in influenza activity in certain areas of the United States have been reported by the CDC for the week of Nov 10-17 (Week 46) but overall influenza-related illness remains low.
According to the CDC’s Weekly US Influenza Surveillance Report, one pediatric flu death was reported in the last week.
Highlights included:
- The proportion of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) remained at 1.9%, which is below the national baseline of 2.2%.
- Three states — Georgia, Louisiana, and Oklahoma — experienced moderate ILI activity.
- New York City and eight states (Alabama, Colorado, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Jersey, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia) experienced low ILI activity.
- The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) was below the system-specific epidemic threshold in the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Mortality Surveillance System.
For week 46 (Nov 10-17), public health labs have tested a total of 599 samples and 79 were positive for flu (13.2%). Of the positive samples, 98% were Influenza A strains, including (H1N1)pdm09 and H3N3.
The CDC continues to recommend the flu vaccination for anyone who has yet to be inoculated for the 2018-19 flu season.