Influenza illness rates set new records, CDC reports
It's official. On Friday the 2017/2018 influenza season entered the record books as one of the worst seasons ever with doctor visits due to flu-like illnesses reaching 7.7%. The previously recorded high for that was 7.6% for the 2003/2004 season.
And this year, there is still no end in sight.
"We were hoping to have better news to share today, but unfortunately it looks like this flu season continues to be particularly challenging," Anne Schuchat, acting director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a Friday morning press conference with reporters. "Our latest tracking data indicate that influenza activity is still on the rise overall. In fact, we may be on track to break some recent records."
Schuchat suggested practitioners take a proactive approach to treating patients complaining of flu-like symptoms. "There is a lot of flu out there right now. If it looks like flu, it probably is," she said. "Anti-virals can mean the difference between a minor illness and a hospital stay or worse. And they work better if they're started earlier."
While there have been spot shortages of anti-viral medicines in those areas with high flu incidence, there is no national shortage according to the manufacturers of the medicines, Schuchat said. "For patients, that might mean calling more than one pharmacy to fill a prescription," she said. "Here at CDC, we have been working closely with the commercial supply chain and pharmacies to address gaps in the market and increase access to brand products when the anti-viral generics aren't available. We appreciate the efforts of suppliers, pharmacies and insurers to try to smooth things out."
This season is already breaking from the traditional illness tracks of the past five seasons with regard to its severity, Schuchat noted, so using the illness trajectories of seasons past to predict the duration of the rest of this season may not product a reliable prognosis. But for the past five seasons, doctor visits due to inlfuenza-like activity remained above the national baseline of 2.3% for as many 20 weeks and we're 11 weeks into the 2017/2018 season, Schuchat said.
"In addition, overall hospitalizations are now significantly higher than what we've seen for this time of year since our current tracking system began almost a decade ago in 2010," Schuchat said. "The rate is approaching the final rate of hospitalizations that we observed at the end of the active 2014/2015 flu season, our most recent severe season."
As many as 34 million Americans have been impacted by flu during past severe seasons. "One of the areas where we're really seeing unusual levels of hospitalizations is in non-elderly adults, where so far this year we've seen 63.1 per 100,000 for people in the 50 to 64 year age group be hospitalized with flu," Schuchat said. "In 2014/2015, that number was 35.1. That's our most recent severe season and we're quite a bit higher than that."
Schuchat debriefed Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Wednesday. The department has been actively monitoring and responding to this year’s especially severe flu season, which has seen hospitalizations reach the highest levels since HHS began tracking such data closely in 2010 and simultaneous high levels of flu activity in more regions of the country than usual. Schuchat noted that information about the effectiveness of this year’s seasonal flu vaccine, which is still available and recommended for almost all Americans, will be released soon.
All told, 48 states are still reporting widespread influenza activity. The only two states not reporting widespread activity are Oregon and Hawaii, where the flu appears to have run its course in one state and an ocean separates the other state from the mainland. "Oregon and Hawaii are reporting regional , or less widespread, activity," Schuchat said. "Last week we reported that parts of the West Coast were seeing declines in flu activity. That's still true for H3N2 viruses [this year's predominant strain], but some Western states are beginning to see an increase in influenza B activity. It's not uncommon for there to be second waves of influenza B activity during an influenza season."
And this year, there is still no end in sight.
"We were hoping to have better news to share today, but unfortunately it looks like this flu season continues to be particularly challenging," Anne Schuchat, acting director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a Friday morning press conference with reporters. "Our latest tracking data indicate that influenza activity is still on the rise overall. In fact, we may be on track to break some recent records."
Schuchat suggested practitioners take a proactive approach to treating patients complaining of flu-like symptoms. "There is a lot of flu out there right now. If it looks like flu, it probably is," she said. "Anti-virals can mean the difference between a minor illness and a hospital stay or worse. And they work better if they're started earlier."
While there have been spot shortages of anti-viral medicines in those areas with high flu incidence, there is no national shortage according to the manufacturers of the medicines, Schuchat said. "For patients, that might mean calling more than one pharmacy to fill a prescription," she said. "Here at CDC, we have been working closely with the commercial supply chain and pharmacies to address gaps in the market and increase access to brand products when the anti-viral generics aren't available. We appreciate the efforts of suppliers, pharmacies and insurers to try to smooth things out."
This season is already breaking from the traditional illness tracks of the past five seasons with regard to its severity, Schuchat noted, so using the illness trajectories of seasons past to predict the duration of the rest of this season may not product a reliable prognosis. But for the past five seasons, doctor visits due to inlfuenza-like activity remained above the national baseline of 2.3% for as many 20 weeks and we're 11 weeks into the 2017/2018 season, Schuchat said.
"In addition, overall hospitalizations are now significantly higher than what we've seen for this time of year since our current tracking system began almost a decade ago in 2010," Schuchat said. "The rate is approaching the final rate of hospitalizations that we observed at the end of the active 2014/2015 flu season, our most recent severe season."
As many as 34 million Americans have been impacted by flu during past severe seasons. "One of the areas where we're really seeing unusual levels of hospitalizations is in non-elderly adults, where so far this year we've seen 63.1 per 100,000 for people in the 50 to 64 year age group be hospitalized with flu," Schuchat said. "In 2014/2015, that number was 35.1. That's our most recent severe season and we're quite a bit higher than that."
Schuchat debriefed Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Wednesday. The department has been actively monitoring and responding to this year’s especially severe flu season, which has seen hospitalizations reach the highest levels since HHS began tracking such data closely in 2010 and simultaneous high levels of flu activity in more regions of the country than usual. Schuchat noted that information about the effectiveness of this year’s seasonal flu vaccine, which is still available and recommended for almost all Americans, will be released soon.
All told, 48 states are still reporting widespread influenza activity. The only two states not reporting widespread activity are Oregon and Hawaii, where the flu appears to have run its course in one state and an ocean separates the other state from the mainland. "Oregon and Hawaii are reporting regional , or less widespread, activity," Schuchat said. "Last week we reported that parts of the West Coast were seeing declines in flu activity. That's still true for H3N2 viruses [this year's predominant strain], but some Western states are beginning to see an increase in influenza B activity. It's not uncommon for there to be second waves of influenza B activity during an influenza season."