CDC: Could be a tough flu season based on early viruses, hospitalizations
The country could be in for another challenging flu season. There are already 11 pediatric deaths associated with the flu and hospitals rates among very young children are high, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC has said it is "too soon to make any assessment about this season's severity."
Yet, it noted this month that A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses have predominated nationally to date, and this so called "swine" virus "has been associated with significant illness and severe illness among young children" since it emerged in 2009 to cause a global outbreak.
"At this point, most flu activity has been driven by illness in school-aged children, and hospitalization rates among children younger than 5 years old (7.7 per 100,000) are now the highest among all age groups," the CDC reported Dec. 21.
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