The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that levels of influenza nationwide are at their highest since the peak of the 2009 swine flu pandemic. According to CDC data, nearly 8% of respiratory illness visits by outpatient providers were caused by influenza, surpassing the previous record set during the 2009 pandemic. This winter’s second wave of the virus has driven overall levels of respiratory illness to “very high” levels.
The CDC also reported that emergency room and lab testing metrics are far above recent peaks nationwide. Data collected from labs found a positivity rate of 31.6% last week, nearly double the rate at last season’s peak. Most states have been categorized as having “high” or “very high” levels of influenza activity.
Pediatric infectious specialists warn that flu can cause rare but serious complications, such as seizures and brain inflammation. Flu vaccination rates in children are at their lowest level in six years, with fewer than half of Americans vaccinated. Experts suspect vaccine hesitancy may be contributing to this trend.
Notably, human cases linked to bird flu have been extremely rare in the US, with investigations showing that transmission is typically from direct contact with sick animals, not human-to-human transmission.
Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/flu-levels-highest-since-2009-pandemic-cdc-reports