Influenza-like illness (ILI) activity in the U.S. showed no signs of slowing down during the week ending March 12, 2016, as the number of states at the highest level increased to seven, compared with four the previous week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The seven states at level 10 on the CDC’s 1-10 scale of ILI activity were Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, New Jersey, and North Carolina. Other states in the “high” range for the week were Mississippi, New Mexico, and Virginia at level 9 and Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, and Oregon at level 8, the CDC’s Influenza-like Illness Surveillance Network (ILINet) reported.
The proportion of outpatient visits for ILI was 3.7% for the week, up from 3.5% the previous week and another new high for the season. The national baseline is 2.1%. The geographic spread of influenza in 40 states and Puerto Rico was reported as widespread, the CDC said.
There were eight flu-related pediatric deaths reported to the CDC, of which only one occurred during the week ending March 12. For the season so far, a total of 28 flu-related pediatric deaths have been reported in 14 states and Puerto Rico.
Since Oct. 1, 2015, 4,006 laboratory-confirmed flu-associated hospitalizations have been reported to the CDC’s Influenza Hospitalization Surveillance Network, which covers more than 70 counties in a group of 10 Emerging Infections Program states plus four additional states. The overall hospitalization rate for the season is 14.5 per 100,000 population, with the highest rate occurring in adults aged 65 years and older (37.2 per 100,000), followed by adults aged 50-64 (21.3) and children aged 0-4 years (20.9), the CDC report noted.
