According to the most recent national flu data, a second wave of influenza is affecting urgent care centers and doctor’s offices across the country.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday that “seasonal influenza activity remains elevated and continues to increase across the country.”
The new instances are occurring in people who had the flu a few weeks prior and are currently dealing with typical after effects. Within a few weeks of having severe flu symptoms, up to one-third of hospitalized individuals get bacterial pneumonia.
An increase of positive flu tests
According to the CDC, for the week ending February 1, over one-third of flu tests were positive, up from 25% the week before.
According to the FDA, this season has already seen at least 24 million infections. Additionally, it appears that more people are becoming ill.
According to a CDC investigation, the number of influenza-like illness cases in urgent care facilities and doctor’s offices seems to be greater than it has been in at least 28 years.
Because flu seasons differ so much from year to year, no one can determine why.
“I think we don’t know where the peaks are yet, which is a bit disconcerting,” said Dr. Cameron Wolfe, a professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, and a specialist in infectious diseases.
13,000 people have perished from the flu so far this season. The season isn’t over, as flu rates continue to increase.
Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development and dean of Baylor College of Medicine’s National School of Tropical Medicine, stated that “you have to figure that at least as many deaths are going to be in the second half” of the year. “We’re likely in for a flu season with 20–30,000 fatalities. That is quite important.
This week, ten pediatric fatalities were added to the national database, increasing the season’s total to 57.
207 kid fatalities were reported last year, making it an especially cruel year.
The current flu outbreak may result in a “double hit” on hospitalizations, according to Dr. Todd Rice, a professor of medicine in the division of allergy, respiratory, and critical care medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. “It will significantly overlap with the rise in bacterial pneumonias that we frequently observe following flu peaks.”
This implies that patients who are suffering respiratory problems due to the flu or other diseases may require additional beds, nurses, and ventilation.
There could be many strains of the flu going around at any one season. Flu Nearly of instances now occurring are caused by strains of the virus, especially H1N1 and H3N2, which may result in more severe symptoms. Over the last week, no new human cases of avian flu have been found.
However, the lone instance of an individual with a distinct A strain variation this season has been reported by the CDC: A(H1N2)v. (The “v” just indicates that this flu virus variation is well-known and not brand-new.)
During the week of January 18, the minor patient fell ill and was admitted to the Iowa hospital. Since then, the youngster has recovered, according to the CDC.
Last year, this same variation was also found in a toddler who lived close to a Pennsylvania pig farm. In addition to being hospitalized, the youngster experienced a fever, cough, runny nose, and vomiting before recovering.
The current avian flu outbreak has nothing to do with this mutant illness.
None of the patient’s close acquaintances were found to be unwell. This instance has not been linked to any human-to-human transmission.
Given that H1N2 mostly spreads among pigs, outside specialists said they were not shocked that the 2024 patient lived close to a farm. However, the most recent ill youngster had no known interaction with the animals.
According to Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, it’s not uncommon for flu variations to sometimes surface. However, she added that it’s “a bit of a puzzle that the person had no contact with swine.”
