Flu activity is increasing in the US amid holiday travel and gatherings, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC estimates that there have been at least 4.6 million illnesses, 49,000 hospitalizations and 1,900 deaths from the flu this season so far, based on data updated as of Dec. 19, and experts expect these numbers to continue to rise.
Public health experts previously told ABC News that many of this season’s cases are linked to a new flu strain called subclade K, a variant of the H3N2 virus, which is itself a subtype of influenza A, that has been circulating since the summer in other countries.
Of the 163 H3N2 virus samples collected since September 28 and genetically characterized, 89% were subclade K, according to the CDC.
Besides, According to an ABC News count, three pediatric flu deaths have been reported so far this season.
Last season, 288 children died from the flu in the United States, which is the same number of children who died during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. About 90% of the children who died from the flu last year were not vaccinated, a CDC study published earlier this year found.
File photography of a sick child.
Natalia Lebedinskaia/STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images
Meanwhile, New York state is reporting the highest number of flu cases it has ever recorded in a single week.
“The emergency room has been busy and we’ve been tracking these numbers,” Dr. Darien Sutton, a board-certified emergency physician and ABC News medical correspondent, told “Good Morning America” on Monday. “Just a note: National numbers tend to lag around the holidays, but the state health department numbers give us an idea of how bad this flu season is.”
A total of 71,123 flu cases were reported during the week ending December 20, according to the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH). This marks the highest number of flu cases in a single week since reporting became mandatory for states in 2004.
This is also up 38% compared to the previous week, in which 51,365 infections were reported, bringing the total flu cases reported in the state to 189,312.
Hospitalizations increased 63% in the most recent week, going from 2,251 to 3,666 weekly admissions, according to NYSDOH data.
Sutton said it’s important to understand that the flu is present and take steps to reduce the risk, including wearing masks, washing hands with soap and water and getting a flu shot.
Currently, the The CDC recommends That everyone over 6 months of age, with rare exceptions, get a flu vaccine.
The federal health agency states on its website that getting vaccinated annually against the flu prevents millions of flu-related illnesses and doctor visits each year and is especially important for those who are at higher risk for serious complications.
“The flu is much more than just a cold. I’m treating it in the emergency room,” Sutton said. “Understand that people come in feeling so sick that it has to be something other than the flu.”
Sutton noted that he is seeing more people in the emergency room and more people hospitalized, but that the illness itself is not more serious, adding that “it’s not like a super flu.”
