Influenza picking up south of New England, CDC reports

ATLANTA  — Influenza activity is picking up across the East Coast even as it remains at high levels in central U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.



Nationwide during the week ended Jan. 28, 3.9% of patient visits reported through the U.S. Outpatient Influenza-like Illness Surveillance Network (ILINet) were due to influenza-like illness. This percentage is above the national baseline of 2.2%.



ILI is defined as fever (temperature of 100°F [37.8°C] or greater) and cough and/or sore throat.



For the week, New York City and 15 states (Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wyoming) experienced high ILI activity. Puerto Rico and 11 states (California, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Virginia) experienced moderate ILI activity. And 14 states experienced low ILI activity.



The following 10 states reported minimal ILI activity: Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia .

   

Data were insufficient to calculate an ILI activity level from the District of Columbia, CDC noted.