Two states are experiencing widespread flu activity while 16 states are experiencing local or regional flu activity so far in the 2019-2020 flu season, according to the latest CDC data.
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Flu activity so far
According to Friday's Weekly Influenza Surveillance report from CDC, Louisiana and Maryland are experiencing widespread flu activity, while Alabama is experiencing regional flu activity. Rhode Island is the only state that is not reporting any flu activity.
Meanwhile, according to CDC, 15 states are experiencing local flu activity and the remaining states are experiencing sporadic activity.
CDC did not release estimates yet of how many people contracted the flu, nor did it release data on how many medical visits or hospitalizations the flu has led to so far this season. CDC said it will release that data "when activity has been sufficient to generate a stable estimate."
However, CDC did say it has confirmed 54 positive respiratory specimens for influenza A and 63 positive specimens for influenza B in the week ending in Nov. 2. Overall, since Sept. 29, CDC said it has confirmed 873 positive specimens, including a total of 491 for influenza A and 382 for influenza B. The percentage of outpatient visits for flu-like illness also increased for the week ending on Nov. 2, up to 2.1% from last week's rate of 1.9%, but still below the national baseline of 2.4%.
According to CDC, no influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported in the week ending in Nov. 2. So far, the 2019-2020 flu season has seen a total of two influenza-associated pediatric deaths (CDC Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report, 11/11; CDC Flu Season FAQ).