2017-2018 Influenza Season Week 44 ending November 4, 2017
November 12th, 2017Synopsis:
During week 44 (October 29-November 4, 2017), influenza activity remained low in the United States, but is increasing.
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- Viral Surveillance: The most frequently identified influenza virus type reported by public health laboratories during week 44 was influenza A. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza in clinical laboratories is low.
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- Novel Influenza A Virus: Three human infections with novel influenza A viruses were reported.
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- Pneumonia and Influenza Mortality: The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) was below the system-specific epidemic threshold in the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Mortality Surveillance System.
- Influenza-associated Pediatric Deaths: No influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported.
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- Influenza-associated Hospitalizations: A cumulative rate for the season of 65.2 laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated hospitalizations per 100,000 population was reported.
- Outpatient Illness Surveillance:The proportion of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) was 1.8%, which is below the national baseline of 2.2%. All 10 regions reported ILI below region-specific baseline levels. Two states experienced moderate ILI activity; six states experienced low ILI activity; New York City, the District of Columbia, and 42 states experienced minimal ILI activity; and Puerto Rico had insufficient data.
- Geographic Spread of Influenza: The geographic spread of influenza in Guam and six states was reported as regional; 13 states reported local activity; the District of Columbia and 31 states reported sporadic activity; and Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands did not report.