Each flu season seems to have some kind of surprise in store for parents and pediatricians.
Last year, the big surprise was that there wasn't a shortage of flu shots. And of course, there was the emergence the swine flu pandemic.
So far, the big surprise this year is the early, widespread availability of flu shots and the expectation that there will be over 155 million doses of seasonal flu vaccine.
Reports of a novel influenza A virus that has been reported, a swine origin influenza A (H3N2) virus, are thought to be cases where a few people got sick from contact with pigs. There is no evidence of human-to-human transmission of this swine flu virus, as we saw in the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, so there is no big surprise with this flu virus.
Flu Season
Flu season got a very early start last year, but concerns that there might have been another wave of flu activity at some point over the summer faded from most parent's minds, well before the World Heath Organization declared an official end to the 2009 H1N1 pandemic on August 10, 2010.
Whether you are concerned about seasonal flu or swine flu, parents should take steps to avoid the flu to keep their family from getting sick. In addition to getting the seasonal flu vaccine include frequent handing washing, voiding close contact with people who are sick with the flu, disinfecting contaminated surfaces, including toys and kitchen counter-tops.
Fortunately, this year's seasonal flu vaccine provides coverage against the 2009 H1N1 swine flu virus and two other flu viruses, an H3N2 virus and an influenza B virus. And so far, although it is very early in this year's flu season, this seems to be a good match for the flu virus strains that are being found on flu tests.
Flu Season Activity Reports
As of mid-December, the CDC states that flu activity 'remained relatively low in most of the United States, however certain key flu indicators are increasing.'
No states are reporting widespread flu activity.
Four states, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Nevada, and Puerto Rico, are now reporting regional flu activity.
Twenty states, Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia, are now reporting local flu activity.
Twenty-one states, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands, are now reporting sporadic flu activity.
Only five states, Delaware, Maine, Nebraska, Oregon, and Vermont, and Guam, are still reporting no flu activity.
Remember that when it comes to flu activity reports, widespread > regional > local > sporadic > no activity.
Google's Flu Trends, which relates flu searches in an area to how many people are actually sick with the flu, now reports a low level of flu activity in the United States, which has increased from the previous minimal level over the summer. Remember that Google Flu Trends is supposed to 'estimate flu activity faster than traditional systems,' like the CDC and based on their scale, flu activity has declined to its lowest level in the past few months.
Knowing where there is flu activity can be helpful, because if you have classic flu symptoms in an area where there are a lot of flu infections, especially widespread or intense flu infections, then you likely have the flu and should see your doctor right away to see if you are a candidate for one of the flu medications, such as Tamiflu or Relenza.
Flu Deaths
Each year, the flu is reported to be responsible for almost 36,000 deaths, including about 46 to 74 deaths in children. Last year (2009-10 flu season), 281 deaths in children were reported to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.
There has been one pediatric death from flu during the 2010-2010 flu season.
