Even though the flu is still at elevated levels in the U.S., flu activity was on the decline for the week ending Jan. 31, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The flu is deemed to be at elevated levels when the percent of visits due to influenza-like illness is above the national baseline. Even though the percent of visits due to flu-like illness dropped to 4.1 percent last week from 4.4 percent the week prior, it is still above the baseline of 2 percent.
For comparison, the highest percentage of visits for flu-like illness so far this season was 6 percent during the last week of 2014.
The number of specimens sent for flu tests also declined last week, to less than 4,000. Of those, 17.5 percent were positive. The week with the greatest number of flu-tested specimens this season was the last week of December 2014, when more than 12,000 specimens were tested and 31.9 percent were positive.
Even though it appears as though the flu season has already peaked and is now on the decline, the virus continues to take lives. Last week, eight flu-associated pediatric deaths were reported to the CDC, and the proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza was above the epidemic threshold.
The circulating flu strains in the U.S. continue to be susceptible to antiviral medications like oseltamivir, zanamivir and peramivir, according to the CDC. A recently published study showed oseltamivir, marketed as Tamiflu, gets patients back on their feet faster and reduces flu complications.