The director of the Arizona Department of Health Services has announced that Flu season is officially here in Arizona. In Arizona, as in the rest of the U.S., three different strains are circulating, including the same virus that caused the 2009 pandemic, according to director Will Humble.
Arizona is experiencing 50% fewer cases than last year at this time but is seeing an increase in the number of lab-confirmed flu cases reported to ADHS.
Humble notes, “Not only are we seeing rising numbers of flu, CDC has also received reports of severe respiratory illness among young and middle-aged adults, which we also saw during the H1N1 pandemic.”
Twenty five states have reported widespread flu activity for the week ending December 28th, while southern parts of the country have had more intense flu activity in the last few weeks, according to Humble.
“In Arizona, as in the rest of the U.S., three different strains are circulating including the same virus that caused the 2009 pandemic. The H1N1 virus is part of this year’s seasonal influenza vaccine. Don’t forget — it’s not too late to get your flu vaccination if you haven’t already,” writes Humble.
“Like flu, respiratory syncytial virus (or RSV), is off to a slower start this year compared to last year. We’ve had 182 lab-confirmed cases reported so far (as of December 28th), compared to 601 cases at this same time last year,” concludes Humble. “As we see every year, RSV is more common in kids 4 and younger this year, with 84% of our cases in this age group.”