Latest Flu Outlook For Boulder: High Risk, 2 CO Deaths 2018-2019

BOULDER, CO -- At least 41 children have died from flu-related causes across the country, with seven child deaths reported in the week ending on Feb.16, according to the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Flu activity continues to increase and, with the exception of West Virginia, the disease is now widespread in every state, including Colorado.

So far in the 2018-2019 season, there have been two pediatric deaths in the state attributed to the flu. The latest figures from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment show that 2,054 people have been hospitalized in this season so far, with the largest proportions coming from those under age four and over age 65.

Colorado's hospitalization rate peaked on Dec. 30 last season, but the 2016-2017 and 2015-2016 peaks came later, in mid-February and mid-March respectively.

The CDPHE reports that patient visits at outpatient clinics due to influenza-like symptoms increased last week from 6.9% to 7.1%. This is above the baseline level of 5.05%. The estimate is based on data from Kaiser Permanente and Primary Care Partners clinics in the North Central, Northeast, Northwest, South and South Central regions of the state.

In Boulder County, the rate of hospitalization is between 18.3 and3.17 per 100,000 people so far this season. This is a moderate risk compared to other regions of the state, which is currently among those in the highest risk category nationwide as evaluated by the CDC.

The H1N1 virus (swine flu) continues to be the predominant strain in most of the country, while the H3N2 virus is most prevalent in the Southeast. FDA Director Scott Gottlieb has said the H1N1 strain tends to peak late in the season but that the vaccine to protect against it has an effectiveness of 60 percent or greater.

Early estimates from the CDC found that by mid-November 2018, 45.6 percent of children aged between 6 months to 17 years old had been vaccinated against the flu, an increase of 6.8 percent compared to early estimates from the previous season. For adults 18 and older, the CDC’s estimates showed that by mid-November, 44.9 percent had been vaccinated against the flu, an increase of 6.4 percent compared to early estimates from the previous season.

The latest figures released by the CDC on Friday are current for the week ending Feb.16. Between Oct. 1, 2018, through Feb.16, the CDC estimates there have been between 17.7 million to 20.4 million flu illnesses in the United States, 8.2 million to 9.6 million flu-related medical visits and between 214,000-256,000 flu hospitalizations.

The only state not reporting widespread flu activity is West Virginia. The geographic spread of flu activity does not measure the severity of the virus.

The CDC’s influenza-like-illness (ILI) surveillance measures the level of flu activity within a state. According to the latest ILI data, New York City and 30 states have high flu activity. However, the ILI surveillance does not measure geographic spread, so the CDC cautions that outbreaks in a single city could cause a state to have high flu activity.

To see where flu is widespread https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/ (scroll to bottom)

Influenza-like-illness activity map with links to state health departments for more info https://gis.cdc.gov/grasp/fluview/main.html

The flu can cause serious illness, hospitalization and death. The groups most at risk are older adults, very young children, pregnant women and those with certain chronic medical conditions, according to the CDC.

You can use the CDC’s flu vaccine finder to locate a pharmacy or clinic near you that provides the vaccine:

According to the CDC, symptoms of the flu include:

• Fever or feeling feverish/chills (though not everyone with flu will have a fever)
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Muscle or body aches
• Headaches
• Fatigue (tiredness)
• Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.

Patch National staffer Feroze Dhanoa contributed to this report.

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