*
Note from Kaiser Permanente
Everyone 6 months and older should get vaccinated, even healthy people.
What you should know about the flu:
- The flu shot is the best way to prevent the flu.
- The flu shot cannot give you the flu.
- The flu is serious. It can lead to hospitalization and even death.
- If you get the flu, you can give it to people around you.
- Kaiser Permanente members can get the flu shot at no charge.
- This year's vaccine includes protection against the H1N1 flu virus.
The flu is more serious than a common cold. Symptoms include fever, chills, and muscle aches, and can last more than a week.
What you should know about the flu:
* Be sure to see your physician for guidance on getting flu shots or treatment for any symptoms. Rikki
H1N1 Flu Spreading in South-Central U.S.
This flu strain tends to hit younger adults harder than older adults, CDC says
THURSDAY, Dec. 26, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- This year's flu season may be off to a slow start nationwide, but infection rates are spiking in the south-central United States, where five deaths have already been reported in Texas.
And the predominant strain of flu so far has been H1N1 "swine" flu, which triggered the pandemic flu in 2009, federal health officials said Thursday.
"That may change, but right now most of the flu is H1N1," said Dr. Michael Young, a medical officer with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's influenza division. "It's the same H1N1 we have been seeing the past couple of years and that we really started to see in 2009 during the pandemic."
States reporting increasing levels of flu activity include Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, he said.
Young noted that H1N1 flu is different from other types of flu because it tends to strike younger adults harder than older adults. Flu is typically a bigger threat to people 65 and older and very young children and people with chronic medical conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes, he said.
"This year, because it's an H1N1 season so far, we are seeing more infections in younger adults," Young said. "And some of these folks have underlying conditions that put them at risk for hospitalization or death. This may be surprising to some folks, because they forget the population that H1N1 hits."
The good news, Young said, is that this year's flu vaccine protects against the H1N1 flu. "For people who aren't vaccinated yet, there's still time -- they should go out and get their vaccine," he advised.
Flu activity is expected to increase nationwide during the next several weeks, Young pointed out. "We usually see flu activity peak in January and February," he said.
The CDC recommends that everyone 6 months of age and older be vaccinated against the flu.
Over the 30 years from 1976 to 2006, estimates of deaths from all strains of flu in the United States ranged from a low of about 3,000 to a high of about 49,000 people, according to the CDC.
Young said it's doubtful that the H1N1 flu will reach a pandemic level like in 2009. There are several reasons for optimism, he noted.
First, millions of people have already been vaccinated against H1N1 flu, and millions of others have been exposed to it since 2009, he said.
In 2009, the new type of H1N1 flu appeared in the United States for the first time, according to health officials.
For a flu strain like H1N1 to become pandemic it has to "find a group of people that has never seen anything like it before. We don't have that population anymore," he added.
During the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, there were 17,855 cases of infection and 45 deaths, according to the CDC.
Besides vaccination, Young recommends frequent hand washing and covering your mouth when you cough as ways to help prevent getting or spreading the flu. Also, stay at home if you're sick and keep children with the flu out of school, he said.
"The season hasn't peaked yet. There is still going to be a lot of flu activity. Vaccine takes two weeks to really kick in, so the sooner people get their vaccine the better," Young said.
The number of Americans who get vaccinated against the flu hovers around 40 percent to 45 percent, Young said. "That's short of what we would like to see, which is 70 percent. That's our 'Healthy People 2020' goal. We are not there yet."
More information
For more on flu, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Southern Cali
Flu Cases and Deaths Continue to Rise - Los Angeles Local News | FOX 11 LA KTTV
Texas
Texas is one of several states seeing widespread flu activity, and health officials say younger adults are taking the hardest hits from the virus.
Local hospital officials say that while influenza's harshest effects generally are seen in children and the elderly, most of the patients hospitalized for severe flu have ranged in age from their 20s to their 60s. That mirrors a national trend that shows about 60 percent of patients hospitalized for the virus fall roughly within that age range, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Texas Department of State Health Services last week reported that about 37 percent of patients who visited a health care provider for flu-like illness were between 25 and 49, the largest number out of the agency's five listed age groups.
Experts said the trend may have to do with the strain of flu prevalent this season in Texas and nationally, H1NI. Formerly known as "swine flu," the strain first emerged in 2009, causing a pandemic that killed thousands of people across the country. (a complete story from Houston below)
http://www.chron.com/news/health/article/Flu-hitting-young-adults-the-hardest-5154216.php
This flu strain tends to hit younger adults harder than older adults, CDC says
THURSDAY, Dec. 26, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- This year's flu season may be off to a slow start nationwide, but infection rates are spiking in the south-central United States, where five deaths have already been reported in Texas.
And the predominant strain of flu so far has been H1N1 "swine" flu, which triggered the pandemic flu in 2009, federal health officials said Thursday.
"That may change, but right now most of the flu is H1N1," said Dr. Michael Young, a medical officer with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's influenza division. "It's the same H1N1 we have been seeing the past couple of years and that we really started to see in 2009 during the pandemic."
States reporting increasing levels of flu activity include Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, he said.
Young noted that H1N1 flu is different from other types of flu because it tends to strike younger adults harder than older adults. Flu is typically a bigger threat to people 65 and older and very young children and people with chronic medical conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes, he said.
"This year, because it's an H1N1 season so far, we are seeing more infections in younger adults," Young said. "And some of these folks have underlying conditions that put them at risk for hospitalization or death. This may be surprising to some folks, because they forget the population that H1N1 hits."
The good news, Young said, is that this year's flu vaccine protects against the H1N1 flu. "For people who aren't vaccinated yet, there's still time -- they should go out and get their vaccine," he advised.
Flu activity is expected to increase nationwide during the next several weeks, Young pointed out. "We usually see flu activity peak in January and February," he said.
The CDC recommends that everyone 6 months of age and older be vaccinated against the flu.
Over the 30 years from 1976 to 2006, estimates of deaths from all strains of flu in the United States ranged from a low of about 3,000 to a high of about 49,000 people, according to the CDC.
Young said it's doubtful that the H1N1 flu will reach a pandemic level like in 2009. There are several reasons for optimism, he noted.
First, millions of people have already been vaccinated against H1N1 flu, and millions of others have been exposed to it since 2009, he said.
In 2009, the new type of H1N1 flu appeared in the United States for the first time, according to health officials.
For a flu strain like H1N1 to become pandemic it has to "find a group of people that has never seen anything like it before. We don't have that population anymore," he added.
During the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, there were 17,855 cases of infection and 45 deaths, according to the CDC.
Besides vaccination, Young recommends frequent hand washing and covering your mouth when you cough as ways to help prevent getting or spreading the flu. Also, stay at home if you're sick and keep children with the flu out of school, he said.
"The season hasn't peaked yet. There is still going to be a lot of flu activity. Vaccine takes two weeks to really kick in, so the sooner people get their vaccine the better," Young said.
The number of Americans who get vaccinated against the flu hovers around 40 percent to 45 percent, Young said. "That's short of what we would like to see, which is 70 percent. That's our 'Healthy People 2020' goal. We are not there yet."
More information
For more on flu, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Flu Cases and Deaths Continue to Rise - Los Angeles Local News | FOX 11 LA KTTV
Texas
Texas is one of several states seeing widespread flu activity, and health officials say younger adults are taking the hardest hits from the virus.
http://www.timesrecordnews.com/news/2014/jan/20/swine_flu_death/ (a story from Texas)
Northern Cali
Flu takes 45 lives so far in California; Sacramento County counts 11 deaths locally
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/01/17/6081098/flu-takes-45-lives-so-far-in-california.html
New Jersey’s flu season may be lighter — or arrive later — than usual this year.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says flu activity in New Jersey is now "widespread," meaning flu and flu-like viruses are cropping up all over the state — particularly in the northern half.
However, the number of confirmed cases is lower than expected so far, leading the CDC to characterize the state’s flu outbreak so far as "low" in intensity.
"There’s a little bit of flu — but it’s everywhere," said Lynnette Brammer, an epidemiologist with the CDC’s influenza division.
The strain most evident this year is the H1N1 ("swine flu") virus responsible for the 2009-10 pandemic flu season. This year’s vaccine appears to be a good match for the illness it aims to prevent, Brammer said. (See full article at link below)
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2014/01/nj_flu_widespread_but_light_so_far.html
Flu-like illness activity level: Week ending January 11, 2013
The map below shows the proportion of outpatient visits to health care providers for flu-like illness. It does not measure the extent of geographic spread of flu within a state. For more information, see the CDC's FluView tracker.
(Although these colors are not showing on final post, the darker the color, the higher. You can also click on FluView tracker above -Rikki)
(Although these colors are not showing on final post, the darker the color, the higher. You can also click on FluView tracker above -Rikki)
Minimal
Low
Moderate
High
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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