Flu activity high in South US, no real activity in Northeast

Flu activity was high in the U.S. South last week and was increasing in some states, while it had yet to hit the Northeast, officials say. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's weekly flu report said the proportion of people seeing a healthcare provider for influenza-like illness decreased in the week ending Jan. 11, but all 10 regions continued to report influenza-like illness activity above their region-specific baseline level. Fourteen states experienced high influenza-like illness activity -- Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia -- a decrease from the 20 states that reported high influenza-like illness activity last week. Alaska, California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont and Washington reported moderate influenza-like illness activity. Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York City, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wisconsin experienced low influenza-like illness. Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island and Wyoming reported minimal influenza-like illness activity. The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza based on the 122 Cities Mortality Reporting System increased this week, and moved above the epidemic threshold for the first time this flu season. Ten influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported during the latest reporting period -- seven of the deaths were associated with a 2009 H1N1 virus, the same strain as the pandemic in 2009. A total of 20 influenza-associated pediatric deaths are reported for the current 2013-2014 flu season. Widespread influenza activity -- with more than half of a state's counties reporting influenza activity -- was reported by 40 states: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Regional influenza activity was reported by Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Vermont. Sporadic influenza activity was reported by Hawaii.