{"id":37204,"date":"2025-01-14T03:07:13","date_gmt":"2025-01-14T09:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=37204"},"modified":"2025-01-14T03:07:16","modified_gmt":"2025-01-14T09:07:16","slug":"flu-activity-is-high-and-expected-to-remain-so-for-several-weeks-cdc-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=37204","title":{"rendered":"Flu activity is high and expected to remain so for several weeks, CDC says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Winter viruses are raging right now, with flu leading the way at extremely high levels in the West, across the Midwest and deep into the Southeast, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flu-related hospitalizations and deaths are on the rise, and experts predict there\u2019s much more to come. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel confident that flu activity is going to be elevated for several more weeks,\u201d said Alicia Budd, head of the CDC\u2019s domestic influenza surveillance team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest report reflects what was happening during the week ending Jan. 4 \u2014 right after the holidays \u2014 and suggests there was a slight dip in flu activity. That\u2019s probably an anomaly, Budd said, because people are less likely to go to the doctor over the holidays and while on vacation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flu A strains are currently dominant, especially H3N2 and H1N1. While adults 65 and older are most likely to be hospitalized with the flu, the viruses that are circulating are hitting all age groups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seasonal flu tends to spike from December to February<\/a>. People who become infected tend to get a sore throat, cough, runny nose, headaches, body aches and sometimes fever. Many people describe flu symptoms as feeling like they\u2019ve been hit by a truck. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and author of \u201cCrisis Averted: The Hidden Science of Fighting Outbreaks,\u201d suggested it may be another three months before the flu starts to quiet down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s possible that B strains of the flu could spike later in the season, which is why Budd and other infectious disease experts say there\u2019s still time to get a flu shot. Plenty of people remain eligible \u2014 especially children<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of Dec. 28<\/a>, just under 42% of kids had had their flu shot this season. This time last year, nearly 45% had received it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far this season, 16 children have died from the flu. The CDC does not track adult flu deaths, but estimates that at least 4,700 people overall have died so far this season, with more than 110,000 hospitalizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you haven\u2019t gotten vaccinated yet, there\u2019s still time,\u201d Budd said. \u201cIt would be worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CDC recommends<\/a> the annual flu shot for everyone 6 months and older.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flu vaccine is updated every year to match the latest strain of flu that\u2019s circulating, and, in general, reduces the risk of illness by around 40% and hospitalization by 60%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flu mostly spreads by droplets<\/a> from sneezing, coughing and even talking. It can be transmitted within a week after symptoms begin. It\u2019s most contagious, however, during the first three days of illness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Avoiding contact with infected people, and regular hand-washing can help reduce the risk of infection<\/a>. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can also be useful, but hand-washing is preferred, doctors say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you do catch the virus, antiviral medications<\/a> like Tamiflu can help treat the symptoms and hasten recovery. These drugs are especially recommended for people at risk of serious complications, like those with lung disease, heart disease or diabetes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Antivirals work best when started within one to two days after symptoms begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As with all viral illnesses, antibiotics are not effective against the flu, because they target bacteria, not viruses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nbcnews<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Winter viruses are raging right now, with flu leading the way at extremely high levels in the West, across the Midwest and deep into the Southeast, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday. Flu-related hospitalizations and deaths are on the rise, and experts predict there\u2019s much more to come.  \u201cI feel confident that flu […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":37205,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5784],"tags":[1664,25378,3208,4657],"class_list":["post-37204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","tag-cdc","tag-infection-rates","tag-influenza","tag-viruses"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37204"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37204\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37206,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37204\/revisions\/37206"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/37205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}