As U.S. flu activity increases, 48 states reported widespread flu activity for the week ending Feb. 9, according to the CDC's most recent FluView report. West Virginia reported regional flu activity and Hawaii reported local flu activity.
Five things to know:
1. The percentage of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness increased to 4.8 percent for the week ending Feb. 9, which is above the national baseline of 2.2 percent. All 10 regions reported influenza-like illness at or above their region-specific baseline level.
2. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza viruses in clinical laboratories increased. Influenza A (H1N1) viruses predominated in most areas of the country, but influenza A(H3) viruses predominated in the southeastern U.S.
3. The CDC reported 6,868 laboratory-confirmed flu-associated hospitalizations from Oct. 1, 2018, through Feb. 9. The overall flu-associated hospitalization rate was 23.8 per 100,000 population.
4. Twenty-six states experienced high influenza-like illness activity for the week ending Feb. 9. Eight states experienced moderate activity; 11 states experienced low activity; and five states experienced minimal activity.
5. Six pediatric flu deaths were reported to CDC for the week ending Feb. 9, bringing the total number of pediatric flu deaths to 34 for this season.