2018-2019 Influenza Season Week 8 ending February 23, 2019

All data are preliminary and may change as more reports are received.An overview of the CDC influenza surveillance system, including methodology and detailed descriptions of each data component, is available at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/overview.htm.Synopsis: Influenza activity remains elevated in the United States. Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, influenza A(H3N2), and influenza B viruses continue to co-circulate. Below is a summary of the key influenza indicators for the week ending February 23, 2019:\u2022 Viral Surveillance: The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza viruses in clinical laboratories increased slightly. Nationally, during week 8, influenza A(H3) viruses were reported more frequently than influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses. During the most recent three weeks, influenza A(H3) viruses were reported more frequently than influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses in HHS Regions 2, 4, 6 and 7.o Virus Characterization:The majority of influenza viruses characterized antigenically are similar to the cell-grown reference viruses representing the 2018\u20132019 Northern Hemisphere influenza vaccine viruses.o Antiviral Resistance: The vast majority of influenza viruses tested (>99%) show susceptibility to oseltamivir and peramivir. All influenza viruses tested showed susceptibility to zanamivir.\u2022 Influenza-like Illness Surveillance: The proportion of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) remained at 5.0%, which is above the national baseline of 2.2%. All 10 regions reported ILI at or above their region-specific baseline level.o ILI State Activity Indictor Map: New York City and 33 states experienced high ILI activity; the District of Columbia and eight states experienced moderate ILI activity; Puerto Rico and eight states experienced low ILI activity; one state experienced minimal ILI activity; and the U.S. Virgin Islands had insufficient data.\u2022 Geographic Spread of Influenza: The geographic spread of influenza in Puerto Rico and 49 states was reported as widespread; the District of Columbia and one state reported local activity; the U.S. Virgin Islands reported sporadic activity; and Guam did not report.\u2022 Influenza-associated Hospitalizations A cumulative rate of 32.1 laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated hospitalizations per 100,000 population was reported. The highest hospitalization rate is among adults 65 years and older (91.5 hospitalizations per 100,000 population).\u2022 Pneumonia and Influenza Mortality: The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) was below the system-specific epidemic threshold in the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Mortality Surveillance System.\u2022 Influenza-associated Pediatric Deaths: 15 influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported to CDC during week 8.2019713