High flu activity down in Southeast, up in West and Northeast

ATLANTA, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- For the week ending Jan. 18, U.S. flu activity went down in the Southeast, but increased in other parts of the country, federal health officials say.

The weekly flu report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the Southeast, which began experiencing high levels of flu activity at the end of November, is now showing declines in activity, but increasing among some Western and Northeastern states.

Eight influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported to the CDC. A total of 28 influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported for the 2013 to 2014 season.

Of the 4,615 influenza-associated hospitalizations reported this season, 61 percent were people ages 18 to 64. More commonly, most flu hospitalizations occur in people 65 and older. This same pattern of more hospitalizations among younger people was also seen during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.

Thirteen states experienced high influenza-like illness -- down from 14 states the previous week -- Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

Moderate influenza-like illness activity was reported in Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, West Virginia and New York City.

Low influenza-like illness was reported in Alaska, Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, New York, North Dakota, Ohio and South Carolina.

Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire reported minimal influenza-like illness activity.