With the Centers for Disease Control predicting that the flu season may be severe this year, the PA department of Health has released its first weekly influenza report for the 2022-23 year.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said on Thursday that flu cases are starting to pick up across the United States, but as of right now, areas of the south east and south central U.S. will be hit the hardest. She said that with people not getting vaccinated for flu last year, it makes conditions good for a potentially bad flu season.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has released the first round of statistics for the flu season. Across Pennsylvania, 414 flu cases have been reported, with Type A flu coming in with 280 cases, Type B at 132 cases and two cases in the unidentified column. Indiana County has not had any Type A flu cases yet, but at least one Type B flu case has been reported. The Department of Health does not post a statistic for any type of flu that has at least one but less than five cases reported.
The Department of Health report says that the percent of emergency department visits associated with influenza-like illnesses is now low, and there are no flu-related deaths to report of.
It’s important to note that these statistics represent the cases that have had a positive laboratory test for flu that are reported to the Department of Health. The counts could represent a fraction of the number of people who actually get the flu, as many do not go to the doctor or are not tested or reported.
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