Quantcast
Published On: Sat, Jan 4th, 2014

CDC tweets 10 flu tips as 25 states now report widespread flu activity

Despite a relatively slow start to this 2013-2014 flu season, it has certainly picked up strongly in recent weeks as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reporting 25 states as having widespread flu activity, this is up from 10 states a week prior.

Image/CDC

Image/CDC

“Widespread” means that more than 50% of geographic regions in a state — counties, for example — are reporting flu activity. It addresses the spread of the flu, not its severity.

Much of the flu activity reported thus far is attributed to the H1N1 virus. Yes, the same virus that was behind the 2009-2010 “swine flu” pandemic that killed an estimated 284,000 people worldwide.

Deaths from the flu have been reported from Texas, North Carolina and Utah, to name a few.

H1N1 influenza tends to affect in younger children and middle-aged adults, while the predominant strain of last year’s flu season, H3N2, tends to cause serious illness and deaths in older people.

The CDC tweeted a variety of flu tips since New Year’s eve to “Make a New Year’s resolution to improve your health and be #flufreein2014!”

These include “If u haven’t gotten a #fluvax yet, now’s the time! #Fluvax prevented 6.6 M flu-related illnesses last season”, “Try to avoid close contact with sick people! And when you’re sick, keep your distance from others”, “Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with germs like the flu” and “Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth to prevent spread of germs.”

More info on the flu vaccine

Flu.gov notes seasonal flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by flu viruses. Approximately 5-20% of U.S. residents get the flu each year.

  • Flu season typically starts in the fall and peaks in January or February.
  • Getting the flu vaccine is your best protection against the flu.
  • Flu-related complications include pneumonia and dehydration.
  • Illness from seasonal flu usually lasts one to two weeks.

For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page and the Outbreak News This Week Radio Show page.

Looking for a job in health care? Check here to see what’s available

xcellediting

On the DISPATCH: Headlines  Local  Opinion

Subscribe to Weekly Newsletter

* indicates required
/ ( mm / dd ) [ALL INFO CONFIDENTIAL]

About the Author

- Writer, Co-Founder and Executive Editor of The Global Dispatch. Robert has been covering news in the areas of health, world news and politics for a variety of online news sources. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the website, Outbreak News Today and hosts the podcast, Outbreak News Interviews on iTunes, Stitcher and Spotify Robert is politically Independent and a born again Christian Follow @bactiman63

Displaying 4 Comments
Have Your Say
  1. Flu is reported ‘widespread’ in 70 percent of US states: CDC - The Global Dispatch says:

    […] (CDC) reports  that 35 states are now reporting “widespread” geographic spread, this is up from 25 states reported just one week […]

  2. Three Deaths Related To Flu In Indiana – WIBQ | Rss News Desk | Daily News Magazine says:

    […] fluCNNFlu season hits, five H1N1 virus deaths reported statewideVallejo Times-HeraldCBC.ca -The Global Dispatch -Detroit Free Pressall 1,055 news […]

  3. Widespread flu activity in US this season, CDC says – CBS News | RHN says:

    […] agency saysCTV NewsFlu season hits, five H1N1 virus deaths reported statewideVallejo Times-HeraldCDC tweets 10 flu tips as 25 states now report widespread flu activityThe Global DispatchKATU -Vancouver Sun -Bradford Eraall 1,053 news […]

  4. Flu cases continue to ‘increase sharply,’ public health agency says – CTV News | emedicalnews.net says:

    […] hospitalizations among influenza patients as 2013 came to a close. The new data, which …CDC tweets 10 flu tips as 25 states now report widespread flu activityThe Global DispatchCDC: 25 states reporting widespread fluCNNFlu season quickly getting worse in […]

Leave a comment

XHTML: You can use these html tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

like_us_on_facebook

 

The Global Dispatch Facebook page- click here

Movie News Facebook page - click here

Television News Facebook page - click here

Weird News Facebook page - click here 

DISPATCH RADIO

dispatch_radio

THE BRANDON JONES SHOW

brandon_jones_show-logo

Archives