State Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the epidemic level of influenza is recorded in all US states except Hawaii. According to the forecast of the CDC, if the epidemic continues to spread at such a rate, by the end of the season in the world they will be ill about 34 million people.

Now every fifteenth visit to a doctor in the US is associated with the manifestation of flu symptoms.

According to the CDC, the flu has already resulted in 12 thousand hospitalizations. 37 children died, but the level of child mortality may increase, since such data does not immediately fall into the official statistics. CDCs do not have data on adult mortality.

As a rule, children and elderly people suffer from influenza in the first place. However, this year abnormally many hospitalized at the age of 50 to 64 years.

This season, the same strain of the virus as in the past - H3N2, but in the season 2016-2017 the epidemic was not so serious.

Experts do not have an unambiguous explanation, what is the reason for this.

The peak of the influenza season in the US is usually in February. In some states, the number of diseases has already been reduced. In the CDC it is assumed that this year the influenza season started earlier and, perhaps, will end earlier.

Doctors recommend getting a flu shot for all people older than six months. However, this year the vaccine was effective only in 30% of cases.

Source: Voice of America.