Flu activity in the U.S. increased for the week ending April 9, with the highest test positivity levels in central and south-central states, according to the CDC's latest FluView report.
Eight CDC updates:
1. Of all specimens tested in a clinical lab, 8.4 percent were positive for the flu for the week ending April 9. That's about the same as the week prior.
2. For the week ending April 9, 3,170 lab-confirmed flu patients were hospitalized, up from 2,965 the week before. The cumulative hospitalization rate was 8.9 per 100,000, up from 8.0 from a week earlier. This marks the tenth consecutive week flu-related hospital admissions reported to HHS have increased.
3. No states reported very high flu activity. New Mexico reported high flu activity for the third consecutive week. Three states — Oklahoma, New York and Massachusetts — reported moderate flu activity. Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Maryland, Rhode Island and New York City reported low flu activity. Remaining states reported minimal activity. The District of Columbia reported insufficient data.
4. Three pediatric flu deaths were reported for the week ending April 9, bringing the cumulative pediatric flu-related deaths this season to 19.
5. The percentage of visits to an outpatient provider for respiratory illness was 2 percent for the week ending April 9, about the same as the previous week. This is below the national baseline of 2.5 percent.
6. Nationwide, 0.9 percent of long-term care facilities reported more than one flu-positive test among residents, about the same as the week prior.
7. The national flu, pneumonia and/or COVID-19 mortality rate is 7.1 percent, slightly above the epidemic threshold of 7 percent. Among the 1,001 deaths reported for the week, 367 had COVID-19 and 19 had flu listed as an underlying or contributing cause of death. This indicates the current death rate for pneumonia, influenza and COVID-19 is primarily due to COVID-19, the CDC said.
8. The CDC estimates there have been at least 4.3 million flu illnesses, 42,000 hospitalizations and 2,500 flu-related deaths so far this season.