News from the FDA/CDC

2016-2017 flu season continues to wind down

Publish date: March 27, 2017
By
Richard Franki
MDedge News

 

Influenza activity took another healthy step down as outpatient visits continued to drop, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The proportion of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) was down to 3.2% for the week ending March 18, 2017, the CDC reported, compared with 3.6% the week before. (The figure of 3.7% previously reported for last week has been adjusted this week, so the halt in the decline in outpatient visits was actually more of a slowdown.) The national baseline for outpatient ILI visits is 2.2%.

Influenza-like illness activity level, week ending March 18, 2017
On the regional level, flu activity was still high in most of the South, as Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, and South Carolina were at level 10 on the CDC’s 1-10 scale of ILI activity. Other southern states in the high range (8-10) were Louisiana, Mississippi, and Virginia, and they were joined by Indiana, Kansas, and Minnesota.

Two flu-related pediatric deaths were reported during the week of March 18, but both occurred earlier: one during the week ending Feb. 18 and the other in the week ending Feb. 25, the CDC reported. The total number of pediatric flu deaths reported is now 55 for the 2016-2017 season.

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