Flu incidence continues to drop, CDC says

ATLANTA Incidence of flu continued to drop for the week ended Dec. 5, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday. Now, only 14 states are reporting widespread influenza activity, down from more than 40 states just a few weeks ago.

Those states are located primarily in the Northeast and Southwest, along with Alabama and Florida.

Regional activity (where influenza-like illnesses are prominent in more than one but less than half of the regions within a state) is being reported in 25 states.

Nationwide, as many as 2.7% of all doctor visits were due to an influenza-like illness, which is still above the historical baseline of 2.3%, the CDC reported.

For the week, more than 98% of influenza viruses tested were categorized as the novel H1N1 influenza; approximately 1.5% consisted of a type-B influenza virus that belongs to the B/Victoria lineage, the CDC reported, a strain that is included in this year’s seasonal vaccine.