
Full Answer
What is the current status of the flu?
Laboratory confirmed flu activity as reported by clinical laboratories continues to decrease sharply and is now low. Influenza-like illness activity, while lower than last week, is still elevated.
When will the flu peak this winter?
But for this winter, the CDC says there's a 40 percent chance the flu will peak in December based on activity so far. Influenza-like illness reports for this flu season (red) and past seasons.
Is 2018-2019 flu season milder than last year?
Flu activity reached its second peak this season. The 2018-2019 flu season appears to be much milder than last year, which many health experts attribute to the effectiveness of this year’s vaccine.
Is the flu increasing in the US in 2022?
As of March 12, 2022, the CDC reported increasing influenza-like illness (ILI) activity in most of the United States. At the end of the week of March 5, flu activity continues throughout the country. The number of people going to the doctor for or being hospitalized with respiratory illness has been increasing in recent weeks.

What type of flu is circulating now?
Influenza A(H3N2) viruses have been the most frequently detected influenza viruses this season. Of the 13,275 influenza positives reported this season by the public health labs and also tested for SARS-CoV-2, 563 (4.2%) were also positive for SARS-CoV-2.
What is the new flu called 2021?
October 22, 2021—CDC today reported two new U.S. human infections with influenza viruses that usually spread in pigs and not people. These types of infections are called “variant influenza virus” infections and denoted with the letter “v” after the influenza subtype.
What are the 4 strains of flu this year?
The committee recommended that the quadrivalent formulation of egg-based influenza vaccines for the U.S. 2021-2022 influenza season contain the following:an A/Victoria/2570/2019 (H1N1) pdm09-like virus;an A/Cambodia/e0826360/2020 (H3N2)-like virus;a B/Washington/02/2019- like virus (B/Victoria lineage);More items...•
Is flu A or B worse?
Type A influenza is generally considered worse than type B influenza. This is because the symptoms are often more severe in type A influenza than in type B influenza. Type A influenza is more common than type B influenza. Researchers suggest that most adults have considerable immunity against type B influenza.
Is H1N1 still around in 2021?
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed on November 5, 2021, three human infections with novel influenza A viruses occurred during the 2020-21 influenza season. However, no human-to-human transmission was associated with these 'swine flu' patients.
How many strains of flu are there 2021?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are four types of flu viruses: influenza A, B, C, and D.
What is difference between influenza A and B?
Influenza A is usually the more common form of the virus and tends to circulate early in the season, while influenza B is normally less common and shows up late in the season. This season, influenza B has been more common and is circulating earlier than in previous seasons.
What are the symptoms of influenza A and B?
There are four types of influenza virus. Influenza A is the most common, followed by influenza B. Both are highly contagious, and their symptoms are similar....Symptomsfatigue.nasal congestion.a cough.headaches.a sore throat.body aches.chills.a fever.More items...•
What is the difference between influenza A and B symptoms?
Influenza A vs. B symptomsInfluenza A vs. B symptomsInfluenza AInfluenza BRunny nose Sore throat Fever Chills Body aches Cough Headaches Fatigue Chest discomfortRunny nose Sore throat Fever Chills Body aches Cough Headaches Fatigue Chest discomfort (Symptoms can be less severe than influenza A)Oct 16, 2020
How serious is type A flu?
Type A influenza infection can be serious and cause widespread outbreaks and disease. Common symptoms of type A infection can be confused with other conditions. While in some milder cases the flu can resolve on its own without significant symptoms, severe cases of type A influenza can be life-threatening.
How long does it take to recover from influenza A?
Flu symptoms, including fever, should go away after about 5 days, but you may still have a cough and feel weak a few days longer. All your symptoms should be gone within 1 to 2 weeks.
When does the flu peak in the US?
That's a few weeks earlier than in past years. Flu season in the United States can ramp up in the fall and peak anywhere between December and March, then drag itself out as late as May. In the last 36 years, flu most often ramped up in December and January and peaked in February.
What is a type B virus?
Type B is one of three types of influenza viruses that infect humans— A, B, and the very mild C. (There's a fourth type, D, but so far it mainly seems to infect cattle.) Most flu seasons are driven by type A viruses, the kind you've probably heard about the most. Type A viruses are identified by numbered Hs and Ns, like H1N1 and H3N2.
Can Type A viruses mutate?
Looks like a rough flu season ahead. Here are answers to ALL your flu questions. Type A viruses can swiftly mutate and rearrange the molecular makeup of Has and Nas, making them difficult if not impossible for our immune systems to recognize. That's where the numbering comes in.
Is there any laboratory data on the characterization of viruses collected since October?
However, as CDC's Pauley noted to Ars, "there is relatively little laboratory data on the characterization of viruses collected since October, so it's not possible to make conclusions about how well the vaccine will work at this time."
Is the B/Victoria flu surging?
It's unclear why B/Victoria is surging or what that surge means for the rest of the flu season. CDC spokesperson Scott Pauley told Ars over email that flu is difficult to predict and that it's simply "too early to make any kind of assessment about the potential severity of the season.".
What is flusurv net?
The Influenza Hospitalization Surveillance Network (FluSurv-NET) conducts population-based surveillance for laboratory-confirmed influenza-related hospitalizations in select counties in 14 states and represents approximately 9% of the U.S. population. As in previous seasons, patients admitted for laboratory-confirmed influenza-related hospitalization after April 30, 2021, will not be included in FluSurv-NET. Data on patients admitted through April 30, 2021, will continue to be updated as additional information is received.
What is FluView interactive?
FluView Interactive: FluView includes enhanced web-based interactive applications that can provide dynamic visuals of the influenza data collected and analyzed by CDC. These FluView Interactive applications allow people to create customized, visual interpretations of influenza data, as well as make comparisons across flu seasons, regions, age groups and a variety of other demographics.
What Information Do States Report?
The CDC tracks LIL activity levels in each state and presents a weekly flu surveillance report. LIL activity levels are defined as the following:
What Can The Data Tell Me About Flu Activities In My State?
Data on ILI activity can give you a sense of how many people have respiratory symptoms in your state.
How Is Flu Data Different From COVID-19 Data?
The flu and COVID-19 are different, though they do have similar symptoms that can make it hard to tell them apart. One of the key ways that we can keep track of all the data is by testing people who have symptoms to find out if they have the flu, COVID, or another kind of respiratory illness.
