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The original item was published from 10/28/2024 2:47:29 PM to 11/15/2024 12:00:01 AM.
News Flash
Public Health
Posted on: October 28, 2024[ARCHIVED] Flu Update October 25, 2024
Key Points:
• Percent positivity for influenza and the percentage of emergency department visits for influenza are stable at low levels.
• During Week 42, of the 97 viruses reported by public health laboratories, 94 were influenza A and 3 were influenza B. Of the 63 influenza A viruses subtyped during Week 42, 37 (58.7%) were influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 and 26 (41.3%) were A(H3N2).
• Six human infections with influenza A(H5) virus were reported to CDC this week.
• CDC recommends that everyone ages 6 months and older get an annual influenza (flu) vaccine, ideally by the end of October.
•There are prescription flu antiviral drugs that can treat flu illness; those should be started as early as possible and are especially important for higher risk patients.
• Influenza viruses are among several viruses contributing to respiratory disease activity. CDC is providing updated, integrated information about COVID-19, flu, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity on a weekly basis.
Below is a summary of the key influenza indicators for the week ending October 19, 2024:
Viral Surveillance - Clinical Lab: The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza at clinical laboratories is 0.7% this week.
Viral Surveillance - Public Health Lab: Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 and A(H3N2) were co-circulating this week.
Virus Characterization: Influenza virus characterization information can be found here: U.S. Influenza Surveillance: Purpose and Methods | CDC
Outpatient Illness: The percentage of patient visits to a health care provider for respiratory illness in week 42 was 2.1% which is below baseline.
Outpatient Respiratory Illness: ILINet Activity Map: One jurisdiction experienced moderate activity. No jurisdictions experienced high or very high ILI activity in week 42.
Laboratory-Confirmed influenza Hospitalizations can be found here: Laboratory-Confirmed Influenza Hospitalizations (cdc.gov) The weekly hospitalization rate observed in Week 42 was 0.1 per 100,000 population.
NCHS Mortality: 0.05% of deaths were due to influenza. This percentage remained stable (< 0.1 percentage point change) compared to week 41. (NCHS:National Center for Health Statistics)
Influenza-Associated Pediatric Deaths: 0 influenza-associated deaths were reported this week for the 2024-2025 season. A total of 202 pediatric deaths were reported in the 2023-24 season. For more information: https://gis.cdc.gov/GRASP/Fluview/PedFluDeath.html
CDC FluView Site
https://www.cdc.gov/fluview/
Influenza Activity in Massachusetts
For more information about flu, please go to our Viral Respiratory Disease Dashboard which includes information not only on influenza but also other acute respiratory diseases, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), wastewater data and immunizations for respiratory diseases.
The figure below shows that for MMWR week 42, the percent of ILI visits in the current week is below the regional baseline of 1.9%. (The CDC uses trends from past years to determine a region-specific baseline rate of ILI visits, which for Massachusetts is 1.9%. A rate above this regional baseline indicates higher than normal levels of ILI in the state.) For more information on how regional baselines are calculated see CDC’s influenza surveillance website at U.S. Influenza Surveillance: Purpose and Methods | FluView | CDC) For more information on weekly flu activity, see CDC’s influenza surveillance website at https://www.cdc.gov/fluview/surveillance/index.html.
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ILI Activity in Massachusetts by Region
- The map below shows the relative intensity of reported ILI activity in Massachusetts by region. Although regions may not all experience the same intensity of ILI at similar times, infections due to influenza can be found throughout Massachusetts during flu season. At this time, the West, Central, Northeast, Outer Metro Boston, Inner Metro Boston and Boston are all experiencing minimal ILI activity and the Southeast region is experiencing low ILI activity.
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Influenza Vaccination in Massachusetts
Approximately 1 out of every 5 Massachusetts residents have been vaccinated against influenza this season.
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