Flu levels in US continue to decline, but more kids' deaths confirmed

News brief

For the seventh week in a row, indicators show that US influenza activity is dropping, but it's still above baseline levels and has been for 18 straight weeks, and flu-related pediatric deaths have reached 168, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its weekly update.

"Seasonal influenza (flu) activity continues to decline; however, CDC expects several more weeks of flu activity," the CDC said.

The percentage of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness, or respiratory illness, dropped from 3.3% the previous week to 3.2% last week but is still above the national baseline of 3.0% (see CDC graph above). As in the previous week, five US regions are below their baseline levels.

Only 2 jurisdictions are reporting high or very high flu activity, a sharp drop from 7 the previous week. Test positivity for flu is now at 9.7%, down from 10.7%. Hospitalizations and deaths are both down, but the cumulative hospitalization rate for this season is the highest since the 2010-11 season.

Nine new pediatric flu deaths bring the season's total to 168, the CDC said. That compares with 187 and 207 deaths for the previous two flu seasons. Seven of the new deaths were from influenza A and two from influenza B.

Low levels of flu, COVID, RSV in wastewater

Meanwhile, COVID-19 levels also continue to decline from already low levels, according to the CDC's latest data updates today. Wastewater detections last week remained low, with the highest levels in parts of the South. The rate of overall deaths that were caused by COVID last week was 0.8% (down slightly from 0.9%), similar to the 0.9% for flu.

In its update on the three leading respiratory illnesses—flu, COVID, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) —the CDC that, nationally, flu (9.7%), and RSV (4.1%) test positivity decreased from the previous week, while COVID-19 (3.7%) remained stable. Wastewater levels for influenza A are low, while for RSV they are now very low.

Quick takes: WHO-led pandemic exercise, vaccines for Nigeria meningitis outbreak, polio cases in Chad

News brief

Lisa Schnirring

The World Health Organization (WHO) this week led a 2-day pandemic scenario called Exercise Polaris, which simulated an outbreak of a fictional virus spreading across the world. In a statement today, the WHO said the exercise was the first test of a new global coordination mechanism called the Global Health Emergency Corps (GHEC), which was launched in May 2023. Countries that participated were Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Ethiopia, Germany, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Mozambique, Nepal, Pakistan, Qatar, Somalia, Uganda, and Ukraine, with others present as observers. The activity also involved several regional and global health groups and involved more than 350 health emergency experts. In a statement, Mike Ryan, MD, who leads the WHO's health emergencies program, said the GHEC has become a powerful platform that builds on practice, trust, and connection. "Exercise Polaris showed what is possible when countries operate with urgency and unity supported by well-connected partners. It is a strong signal that we are collectively more ready than we were," he said.
Nigeria this week received more than 1 million pentavalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine doses from the Gavi-funded stockpile to battle an outbreak of meningococcus C and W in the north, Gavi and its partners said today in a press statement. So far this year, more than 800 cases and 70 deaths have been reported across 23 Nigerian states. Meningitis outbreaks are seasonal across parts of Africa, with activity typically peaking in March and April during the height of the dry season. Nigeria is part of Africa’s “meningitis belt,” which spans 26 countries.
One country reported a new polio case this week: Chad, with two more circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) cases, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative said in its latest weekly update. The patients are from Guera and Hadjer Lamis, and both had paralysis onsets in February. The cases push Chad's total for the year to five.