U.S. Flu Rates Show Slight Increase; Overall Respiratory Viruses Rise To Moderate

US flu activity picks up a little more pace In its weekly respiratory illness snapshot, the CDC upgraded the level from low to moderate. CIDRAP

Though US flu activity is still low, markers such as test positivity and emergency department (ED) visits show more rises, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said (Friday)  in its latest weekly update.

In its monitoring of outpatient visits for flulike illness, Louisiana and the District of Columbia are at the high and very high level, respectively, with Georgia and Arizona at the lower tier of the high level. Most detections are influenza A, and subtyping last week at public health labs shows nearly 62% of influenza A viruses were H3N2 and 36% were 2009 H1N1. Nationally, outpatient visits are highest in the youngest children, followed by patients ages 5 to 24 years old.

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