The United States is experiencing its highest level of influenza activity since the 2009 swine flu pandemic. Nearly 8% of respiratory illness visits to outpatient providers are due to influenza, marking a concerning surge in infections.
The United States is currently experiencing its highest level of influenza activity since the peak of the 2009 swine flu pandemic. This surge, marking the second wave of the virus this winter, comes as close to 8% of visits to outpatient providers, including urgent cares and doctors' offices, reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) this week were due to influenza infections. This is the worst recorded level in the CDC 's influenza surveillance network since late 2009.
While most flu seasons typically see a resurgence of infections following the winter holidays, this winter's flu wave has reached unusually high levels compared to recent years. This has resulted in overall respiratory illness reaching 'very high' levels for the first time this season, despite a smaller and now-decreasing wave of COVID-19 in recent months. Other influenza metrics are also significantly higher than recent peaks nationwide, including emergency room visits and laboratory testing results. Data collected by the CDC from labs revealed that 31.6% of tests last week were positive for influenza, nearly double the 18.2% recorded at last season's peak.The CDC reports that most states are currently at 'high' or 'very high' levels of influenza activity, although some states may have already reached their peak. Disease forecasters predict that influenza infections are 'likely growing' in 15 states and are either stable or starting to decline in most other states. Unlike the 2009 pandemic, laboratory tests across the country indicate that cases are still attributed to the usual seasonal variants of the virus, and not a new strain that has jumped from animals. While farms have been grappling with a record surge of H5N1 avian influenza in poultry, driving up egg prices, and a new potentially lethal strain in dairy cows, only a handful of human cases have been confirmed from bird flu in the U.S. Investigations have linked these cases to direct contact with sick animals, and not human-to-human transmission.
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