# 7876
Although the government shutdown has ended, and the CDC is back in full force, they’ve got some catch-up to do. So Friday’s FluView report was brief, and accompanied by the following announcement.
Flu activity remains low (at least based on the surveillance data we have at the moment), with no pediatric deaths reported, and just one novel (H3N2v) swine variant infection reported in Iowa.
A few excerpts from Friday’s report follow:
2013-2014 Influenza Season Week 41 ending October 12, 2013
All data are preliminary and may change as more reports are received.
This FluView is in the abbreviated format due to the partial government shut-down from October 1-16, 2013.
Synopsis:
During week 41 (October 6-12, 2013), influenza activity remained low in the United States.
- Viral Surveillance: Of 3,534 specimens tested and reported by U.S. World Health Organization (WHO) and National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS) collaborating laboratories during week 41, 166 (4.7%) were positive for influenza.
- Novel Influenza A Virus: One human infection with a novel influenza A virus was reported.
- Pneumonia and Influenza Mortality: The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) was below the epidemic threshold.
- Influenza-Associated Pediatric Deaths: No influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported.
- Outpatient Illness Surveillance: The proportion of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) was 1.1%, below the national baseline of 2.0%. All 10 regions reported ILI below region-specific baseline levels. Two states experienced low ILI activity, 48 states and New York City experienced minimal ILI activity and the District of Columbia had insufficient data.
- Geographic Spread of Influenza: The geographic spread of influenza in Puerto Rico was reported as regional; 3 states reported local influenza activity; Guam, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 24 states reported sporadic influenza activity; 22 states reported no influenza activity, and one state did not report.
<SNIP>
One infection with an influenza A (H3N2) variant virus (H3N2v) was reported to CDC by Iowa. Contact between the case patient and swine in the week preceding illness was reported. The patient has fully recovered and no further cases have been identified in contacts of the case patient. This is the first H3N2v infection reported for the 2013-2014 influenza season, which began on September 29, 2013.
Meanwhile, north of the border, Canada’s FluWatch reports very little influenza activity as well.
