A periodic update on the flu season in Connecticut, with information supplied by the state Department of Public Health.
Influenza activity is increasing in the state, with Type A predominant. Here’s a report for the week ending Dec. 10, the latest information available from state officials:
- Activity level: Local (see Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines below.)
- Total influenza reports during current season (since Aug. 28): 128
- Influenza reports by county: New Haven (42), Fairfield (40), Hartford (28), Litchfield (7), New London (6), Tolland (3) and Middlesex (2).
- Influenza reports by type: 100 Type A (subtype unspecified), 17 Type A (H3N2), 11 influenza B
virus. - Percentage of unscheduled hospital admissions due to pneumonia: Approaching 4 percent, considered the baseline when there may be increased pneumonia hospitalizations
due to influenza. - Statewide emergency department visits attributed to the “fever/flu syndrome”: Despite a recent increase, it remains just below 5 percent — considered the minimum threshold when there are
elevated influenza-associated ED visits. - Percentage of outpatient visits with influenza-like illness: Still above 1 percent, the level generally considered the baseline when there are increased influenza associated
visits in the outpatient setting
Levels Of Geographic Spread: CDC Guidelines
No Activity: No laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza and no reported increase in the number of cases of influenza-like illness (ILI).
Sporadic: Small numbers of laboratory-confirmed influenza cases or a single laboratory-confirmed influenza outbreak has been reported, but there is no increase in cases of ILI.
Local: Outbreaks of influenza or increases in influenza-like illness cases and recent laboratory-confirmed influenza in a single region of the state.
Regional: Outbreaks of influenza or increases in influenza-like illness and recent laboratory confirmed influenza in at least two but less than half the regions of the state with recent laboratory evidence of influenza in those regions.
Widespread: Outbreaks of influenza or increases in influenza-like illness cases and recent laboratory-confirmed influenza in at least half the regions of the state with recent laboratory evidence of influenza in the state.
The best way to avoid getting the flu is getting a vaccine.