2017-2018 Influenza Season Week 6 ending February 10, 2018: influenza activity remained elevated.
February 17th, 2018Synopsis:
During week 6 (February 4-10, 2018), influenza activity remained elevated in the United States.
- Viral Surveillance: The most frequently identified influenza virus subtype reported by public health laboratories during week 6 was influenza A(H3). The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza in clinical laboratories remained elevated.
- Pneumonia and Influenza Mortality: The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) was above the system-specific epidemic threshold in the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Mortality Surveillance System.
- Influenza-associated Pediatric Deaths: Twenty-two influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported.
- Influenza-associated Hospitalizations: A cumulative rate of 67.9 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 7.5%, which is above the national baseline of 2.2%. All 10 regions reported ILI at or above region-specific baseline levels. New York City, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and 43 states experienced high ILI activity; two states experienced moderate ILI activity; three states experienced low ILI activity; and two states experienced minimal ILI activity.
- Geographic Spread of Influenza:The geographic spread of influenza in Puerto Rico and 48 states was reported as widespread; one state reported regional activity; the District of Columbia, Guam and one state reported local activity; and the U.S. Virgin Islands reported no activity.
