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

“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.

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