Flu Update- 7 Quick Facts (US and Europe)

It’s still plenty bad out there. Here is the low-down, and a place to click to find treatment, vaccine, and reported levels of illness near you (see link at the bottom):

The USA:

  1. The West coast seems to be showing some decrease in cases (YAY!).
  2. But- most of the US still hit pretty hard, though,
    • Influence like illness still very high
    • Hospitals across the USA have a record number of admissions due to the flu and flu like illnesses
    • It hit early, spread super fast across the USA (CDC graph below):

Flu Jan 26th3. Deaths- 

  • Sadly, another 7 children died this week (season total – 37 children)
  • Adult deaths– are not a reportable statistic for flu nationwide, but in some individual states, it is. (For example, N.Caroline reports 46 adult deaths related to the flu.)
    • Deaths overall are expected to exceed those from the 2014-2015 flu year, where 56,000 people in the USA died.
  • The flu increases the risk of heart attack (MI) shortly after the illness (here)

Flu Jan 26 PI

4.  11 States have closed schools-

  • anywhere from 1 day to a week
  • due to high number of flu cases in teachers and students, and to support staying home and stopping the wide transmission rates

5. Europe-

  • # cases is elevated in Northern, Western, and Southwestern Europe, but lower in Eastern Europe.
  • Europe cases are primarily one of the “B” strains of flu, where USA is primarily H3N2 strain

6. For help with any of the following, click here

  • Flu vaccine or antiviral treatment near you
  • Flu case reports near you
  • Information on what to do if you are sick

7. CDC STILL recommends GET A FLU VACCINE if you haven’t-

  • the data is showing that even though the vaccine is not as protective as we hoped, it still decreases the risk of hospitalization and death. 
  • A large percentage of the children that have dies from flu this year were NOT vaccinated.
  • Check out THIS study in children

Stay Healthy!

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