US flu rate at or near highest level in over 15 years

NEW YORK: The US influenza rate is at or near its highest level in at least 15 years and is still on the rise, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday.

There have been at least 24 million illnesses, 310,000 hospitalizations and 13,000 deaths from influenza so far this season, according to the CDC. The agency said in its weekly flu surveillance report that seasonal influenza activity continues to increase across the country.

According to that report, 7.8% of patient visits to outpatient facilities over the week ended February 1 were for influenza-like illnesses. That measure has risen steadily over the past two weeks, from 7% the week ended January 25 and 5.8% the week before that.

The number of emergency department visits that ended with a diagnosis of influenza for the week ended February 1 was 8%, compared with 1% of emergency department patients that were diagnosed with COVID-19 and 0.5% diagnosed with respiratory syncytial virus.

The number of norovirus outbreaks in the U.S. has also been unusually high this winter, according to CDC data.

A spokesperson for the CDC could not be immediately reached for comment.

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