This flu season is on track to be one of the worst in 15 years, with nearly 12,000 people needing to be hospitalized, federal health officials reported Friday.
The latest weekly report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the season, which started early and hit many states simultaneously, continues to blanket the country.
The virus has killed at least 37 children so far, with seven deaths reported in the week ending last Saturday. By the end of this season, officials said the pediatric death toll is likely to approach, if not exceed, the 148 deaths reported during the 2014-15 flu season. The influenza currently circulating is the same virulent strain that predominated three years ago.
As of last Saturday, flu activity was reported as high, if not extreme, in 39 states plus Puerto Rico and New York City.
“It’s a tough flu season,” said Daniel Jernigan, who heads the CDC’s influenza division.
More people are seeking care for flu-like illness than at any time since the 2009 swine flu pandemic that swept the country. If that pandemic season is not included for comparison, the last time the country experienced such high levels of influenza-like illness was in 2003-04.