Cough-Cold and Flu

DEERFIELD, Ill.  — The Walgreens Flu Index is tracking a significant uptick in influenza across the Lone Star state, according to the company's weekly report.

The top 10 markets as measured by flu activity for the week of Jan. 15 are:

WASHINGTON  — The Consumer Healthcare Products Association on Thursday released the results of a recent poll of registered voters in Michigan showing they are strongly opposed to legislation that would require a prescription for over-the-counter cold and allergy medicines containing pseudoephedrine.

TORONTO — Datapult on Wednesday launched the Achu app on both Google Play and iTunes platforms to be used in conjunction with a Fitbit in monitoring a person's health through cold and flu season.

BRIDGEWATER, N.J.  — Matrixx Initiatives on Tuesday launched ColdSense,an iPhone app designed to help evaluate a user's potential exposure to the common cold. The app utilizes smartphone sensors to actively listen for coughs and sneezes around a user to determine potential risk of exposure, and combines this with multiple other indicators to create a constantly updating personalized risk profile.

ATLANTA  — Has the 2016-2017 influenza season already peaked?

A little more five weeks into the season, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday reported the national weighted average of patient visits for influenza-like illness for the week ended Jan. 7 dropped slightly from 3.3% to 3.2%. For the last 15 seasons, the average duration of a flu season has been 13 weeks, the CDC reported.

DEERFIELD, Ill.  — The latest Walgreens Flu Index issued Thursday recorded sharp upticks in several U.S. markets, including those markets in Utah, Mississippi, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

ATLANTA  — Incidence of influenza is elevated in all but one of 10 HHS Surveillance Regions for the week ended Dec. 31, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported. The end of the year marked the third week influenza activity was above the national baseline level of 2.2% as activity levels continue to climb.

There were several pockets of high influenza activity, including throughout New York City, Puerto Rico and 10 states  (Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina and Utah).