November 28, 2023 – The rate of flu infections continues to rise within the United States, in response to the newest report from the CDC.
For the week ending Nov. 18, “seasonal influenza activity continues to increase in most parts of the country, particularly in the South-Central, Southeast, Mountain and West Coast regions,” the federal government report released Monday said.
“CDC estimates that there have been at least 1.2 million illnesses, 12,000 hospitalizations and 740 deaths from influenza so far this season.”
The CDC recommends flu shots for everybody 6 months of age and older and prescription antiviral medications after diagnosis.
The numbers show a 4.9% increase in flu positivity, up 0.5 percentage points from the previous week.
“Respiratory viruses accounted for 3.7% of outpatient health visits, which are at or above baseline for the third consecutive week in 7 of 10 health and human services regions,” the reported CIDRAP from the University of Minnesota.
According to the CDC report, the best cumulative hospitalization rate per 100,000 population was amongst adults ages 65 and older, followed by adults ages 50 to 64 and kids ages 0 to 4.
The overall rate of cumulative hospitalizations was 2.6 per 100,000 residents, higher than the identical week last 12 months.
Overall, 0.07% of all deaths were attributed to the flu. There were also two children amongst them. Of the 529 virus spots reported by public health laboratories, about 80% were influenza A and 20% were influenza B.
The report shows that about 12,000 people have been hospitalized and 740 have died to this point this season.