Flu Season Continues To Worsen; Hospitalizations Increase

The number of people getting sick with the flu continues to increase across the United States, and the latest data released from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the current flu season is now as bad as the swine flu epidemic nine years ago.

More than 17,000 Americans have been hospitalized with the flu so far this season — last week at a rate of 59.9 per 100,000 residents. The most frequently identified flu virus subtype by public health laboratories continues to be influenza A(H3N2), a particularly aggressive and highly contagious strain.

The CDC said it received reports about 10 more influenza-related flu pediatric deaths during the week ending Feb. 3, bringing the total number of child deaths to 63 for the 2017-18 flu season.

Government data shows 1 of every 13 visits to the doctor from Jan. 28-Feb. 3 was for fever, cough and other symptoms of the flu.

Last week, 43 states reported high patient traffic for the flu, up from 42 from the previous week. The flu remains widespread in 48 states and only two states — Hawaii and Oregon — do not have widespread flu activity.

This flu season, hospitalization rates have surpassed the nasty season of the winter of 2014-2015, when the vaccine was a poor match to the main bug. A similar situation exists this flu season.

Flu season usually takes off in late December and peaks around February. This season started early and was widespread in many states in December. Early last month, it hit what seemed like peak levels, but then continued to surge.

The season has been driven by a nasty type of flu that tends to put more people in the hospital and cause more deaths than other more common flu bugs. But its long-lasting intensity has surprised experts, who are still sorting out why it's been so bad. One possibility is that the vaccine is doing an unusually poor job; U.S. data on effectiveness is expected next week.

You can use the Vaccine Finder website to find where to get a flu shot near you.

Reporting from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Photo by David Goldman/Associated Press