CDC: Early in season, nationwide influenza cases still light

By

Posted 7:23PM on Thursday, January 16, 2003

ATLANTA - The flu season is off to a slow start, but the pace could pick up soon. ``Influenza activity is expected to increase during coming weeks,'' the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday. It's not too late to get a flu shot, particularly since this year's cocktail of flu vaccine seems to be well-matched against the type A and B strains of flu found in the United States, said Dr. Pauline Terebuh of the CDC. Flu activity has been reported in 25 states. Most of the activity has been low. But flu activity has been higher in the South. ``The South Texas and some border states have been the only places that have reported some widespread outbreaks,'' Terebuh said. ``Some states have reported nursing home outbreaks, but that's not uncommon.'' Influenza also known as the flu is a respiratory virus that kills about 36,000 people and hospitalizes 110,000 people in the United States yearly. The death rate has risen from 20,000 people a year because of the gradual aging of the population, the CDC said. Flu shots are encouraged for people at high risk of complications from the virus, including the elderly and those with chronic illnesses. Health care workers or household members who may spread the flu to high risk people also are recommended to get flu shots, the CDC said. The CDC said antiviral medications have been useful for early treatment, not only to shorten an individual's illness, but also to prevent outbreaks from spreading in institutions. Rapid diagnostic tests also can help clinicians confirm a person's illness quickly. Such tests can help the doctor provide timely antiviral treatment and avoid misusing antibiotics against a virus, said Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of Vanderbilt Medical Center's department of preventive medicine in Nashville, Tenn. ``Clearly rapid diagnostic tests have been a very, very useful part in diagnosing influenza A, which is the prominent form of influenza,'' Schaffner said. ``Clinicians have been using them ... increasingly for the past couple of years.'' So far, the CDC has tested nearly 24,000 lab samples for influenza; only 321 or 1.3 percent were positive. During peak flu season, the CDC typically has a positive sample rate of between 23 to 31 percent. Between Sept. 29 to Jan. 4 the latest data available doctors reported between 1 percent and 2 percent of their patients with flu-like illness. During a the peak season, doctors typically report a flu-like illness rate between 3.2 percent to 5.6 percent, the CDC said.