The flu is soaring in 7 U.S. states and rising in others, health officials say [View all]
Source: PBS News Hour/AP
Nov 17, 2023 2:52 PM EST
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. flu season is underway, with at least seven states reporting high levels of illnesses and cases rising in other parts of the country, health officials say.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted new flu data on Friday, showing very high activity last week in Louisiana, and high activity in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, New Mexico and South Carolina. It was also high in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, the U.S. territory where health officials declared an influenza epidemic earlier this month.
“We’re off to the races,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University infectious diseases expert Traditionally, the winter flu season ramps up in December or January. But it took off in October last year, and is making a November entrance this year.
Flu activity was moderate but rising in New York City, Arkansas, California, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. And while flu activity has been high in Alaska for weeks, the state did not report data last week, so it wasn’t part of the latest count.
Read more: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/the-flu-is-soaring-in-7-u-s-states-and-rising-in-others-health-officials-say
Link to CDC's Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report - https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/index.htm
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