After the winter holidays, flu activity fell in the United States, but another peak could be on the horizon, according to a report published recently by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Certain regions of the country have recently had higher flu activity, namely the Midwest and South-Central regions. The percentage of positive flu samples was 16.2% the week before the week ending Feb. 2 (when the report was published), compared to 14.2% the previous week. Influenza A is still dominant, as 60.4% of samples were the 2009 H1N1 subtype. Percentages of H3N2 and influenza B detections rose the week ending Feb. 2 compared to the previous week.
Since November, outpatient clinic visits for flu and flu-like illness have stayed steady. There’s been a rise in flu among people 5 to 24 years old, but not for older adults. Deaths from the flu decreased during the week ending Feb. 2 compared to the week before.
Having a second surge of flu activity after the winter holidays isn’t uncommon. There could be a complete surge or a small increase before activity goes down for the season. Experts say it’s hard to say how severe the flu season will be, or how long it will last, CNN reported.
Most COVID-19 markers declined the week before last except for deaths, the CDC reported. People hospitalized for COVID-19 slipped 10.9% compared to the week before last. COVID-19 levels were a bit higher in the Midwest, South, and parts of the Northeast. Emergency department visits declined 11% compared to the previous week and remain highest for infants and older adults.+
Earlier last week, experts identified a new lineage of the virus that causes COVID-19 from samples in South Africa that has more than 100 mutations. Scientists call the new variant BA.2.87.
This flu season, the CDC estimates that there have been at least 20 million illnesses, 230,000 hospitalizations and 14,000 deaths from flu so far.
