US flu exercise final week declined for the third week in a row, however main impacts are nonetheless being felt at hospitals and outpatient clinics, with 16 extra pediatric flu deaths reported, the US Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) mentioned at present in its newest replace.
With the nation nonetheless within the grips of a high-severity season for the primary time since 2017-18, take a look at positivity for flu final week was nonetheless excessive, at 18.9%, however exhibits a declining development. Nationally, the proportion of outpatient visits for flulike sickness—presently simply shy of 5%—has been above the nationwide baseline for 14 weeks in a row, and all areas of the nation stay above their regional baselines.
Although the nation is within the latter a part of the flu season, when influenza B exercise usually spikes, 96% of optimistic flu assessments at public well being labs final week had been influenza A. Of subtyped influenza A viruses, 54.4% had been the 2009 H1N1 pressure and 45.6% had been H3N2.
Hospitalizations tracked via the FluSurv-NET present that the cumulative fee final week was the best for the reason that 2010-11 season, and the CDC’s Nationwide Healthcare Security Community (NHSN) Hospital Respiratory Information present that greater than 29,500 individuals had been hospitalized for flu final week, exhibiting a downward development.
General deaths from flu declined, however once more outpaced COVID-19 deaths. The 16 newly reported pediatric flu deaths pushed the season’s complete to 114. That compares with 187 deaths for all of 2022-23 and 207 final season. Of the newest deaths, 15 had been linked to influenza A and 1 to influenza B. Of 9 subtyped influenza A samples, 5 had been H1N1 and 4 had been H3N2.
COVID wastewater detections now at low stage
For COVID, take a look at positivity stays steady, and emergency division visits and hospitalizations proceed to say no, the CDC mentioned in its weekly respiratory virus replace. The proportion of deaths from COVID, at 1.1%, was much like the earlier week.
Wastewater detections of SARS-CoV-2 declined from the reasonable to the low stage, with the best ranges within the South.
