News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – As attention shifts to China and a novel H7N9 strain of avian flu, seasonal influenza in the United States continued to ebb, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported today.

(CIDRAP News) – One of the key markers the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) uses to gauge flu activity returned to baseline last week for the first time since early December, signaling that the season is drawing to a close, the agency said today.

(CIDRAP News) – The nation's flu indicators continue to drop with the start of spring, but virus activity is still significant in many parts of the country, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in its most recent surveillance report.

(CIDRAP News) – Flu activity in the United States last week continued its slow retreat, with more areas of the country returning to regional baselines and fewer respiratory samples testing positive for the virus.

(CIDRAP News) – Most US influenza activity indicators showed a continued decrease last week as influenza B for the first time this season became the predominant strain, according to new data presented today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Of 7,609 respiratory specimens tested by reporting labs, 16.9% were positive for flu, about the same as the previous week, when 16.8% tested positive.

(CIDRAP News) – Some of the key markers that US officials use to track flu continued to tumble last week, though activity was still elevated in most parts of the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today.

Nationally, the percentage of doctors visits for flulike illness fell from 3.2% to 2.8% last week, with all parts of the country still above regional baselines.

(CIDRAP News) – The nation's flu markers show that the flu has probably peaked, though many states are still reporting plenty of infections and hospitalizations, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.

Though the percentage of doctors' visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) is still above baselines in all regions of the country, the overall national level fell from 3.6% to 3.2% last week, according to the CDC.