Influenza activity levels fell below the national baseline for the third consecutive week since late November, according to the CDC's most recent FluView report.
Here are five things to know.
1. Only 1 of 10 U.S. regions reported outpatient flu activity above region-specific baselines for the week ending April 21. The percentage of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness for the week was 1.7 percent, which falls below the 2.2 percent national baseline. CDC data suggest this year's flu season peaked with activity at 7.5 percent in early February.
2. Influenza B infections continue to outpace influenza A throughout the end of flu season. The agency confirmed 429 positive specimens for influenza A and 974 positive specimens for influenza B in the week ending April 21. These figures mark a significant drop from the 706 positive A specimens and 1,350 positive B specimens confirmed in the week prior.
3. The overall flu-associated hospitalization rate was 105.3 per 100,000 population for the week ending April 21. The CDC tallied 30,064 laboratory-confirmed flu-associated hospitalizations from Oct. 1, 2017, through April 21, 2018.
4. The CDC reported four additional pediatric flu deaths for the week, upping the total count of flu-associated pediatric deaths to 160 for the 2017-18 flu season.
5. Four states reported widespread flu activity for the week ending April 21, down one from the previous week. Guam, Puerto Rico and nine states reported regional flu activity; 25 states reported local flu activity; Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and 10 states reported sporadic activity; and two states reported no flu activity.