MOSCOW, December 31 (Sputnik) — Thousands of Americans have been hospitalized and hundreds of flu-related deaths have been reported as the annual influenza season hit the US early this year; it has now been classified an epidemic by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), NBC News reports.
The CDC has confirmed in its weekly influenza update this week that "the proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza was at the epidemic threshold." Influenza is considered to reach epidemic proportions once the number of deaths attributed to the virus reaches 6.8 percent of all reported deaths, Bloomberg has explained.
CDC statistics have shown an early elevation in flu activity across the country, with the virus traditionally peaking in the country in the months of January and February. Medical officer Michael Jhung from the CDC's influenza division told Bloomberg that "there are some suggestions right now that this season will be a severe season," which may result in more instances of severe illness and death. As the Washington Post explained, the most recent CDC data has found that the influenza-related hospitalization for people 65 and older is now 38.2 per 100,000, compared with 28.4 per 100,000 this time last year.
The epidemic is said to have hit the country's southeast, New Jersey and areas of the Midwest particularly hard. 15 children across nine states are said to have died so far, about half of them reported to be healthy before falling ill. The virus has claimed a total of 837 lives in the 51st week of this year, the Los Angeles Times explained, with 2,643 people hospitalized with lab-confirmed cases of the flu since October 1.
This year the predominant form of the virus appears to be a mutation of H3N2. Two thirds of its strains have not yet been included in this year's flu vaccines. The Washington Post has explained that the timing of the new mutation made it impossible to include the vaccine into this year's batch of flu shots. CDC director Thomas Frieden warned earlier this month that "H3N2 predominant seasons tend to have more hospitalizations and more deaths."
CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook noted that due to the H3N2 strain's resistance to this year's vaccine, its effectiveness has been reduced to about 40 percent, compared with 60 percent in a normal year. Despite limited effectiveness, health officials have recommended getting a flu shot anyway.
