The CDC has deviated from its usual practice of releasing a weekly flu report, citing a need to prioritize communications related to the bird flu outbreak. Although hospitals rely on this report to prepare for flu surges, the CDC has assured the public that this pause is not cause for alarm and that FluView information will be released on a case-by-case basis.
The information was not reported as it usually is by the CDC , in a weekly breakdown of flu activity called Trends show flu activity remains high and is rising in many areas of the country, with increases in flu found in wastewater samples, the number of positive flu tests and flu-related visits to the emergency room.
Emergency departments are also seeing an increasing number of people sick with flu, especially babies, older children and teens. Of overall visits to the ER, 5.2% were for the flu and were close to reaching the surge hospitals saw before the winter holidays. “We look at data like this to see what additional resources we might need to bring in,” such as extra nurses or isolation beds, said Dr. Aaron Glatt, chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau in New York. “It gives us a certain sense of what will happen.”The flu information released Friday did not provide the level of detail that’s normally found in its weekly FluView, such as specifics on flu strains and whether antiviral medications can still treat them.
It’s cold and flu season again, which means you could be left wondering which virus is causing your symptoms. Here’s what you need to know.
BIRD FLU CDC FLU HEALTH HOSPITAL
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