US flu indicators declined for the sixth week in a row, but levels remain elevated nationally, and activity is expected to continue for the next several weeks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its latest weekly update.
Nationally, the percentage of outpatient visits for flulike illness, at 3.3%, remains above the national baseline for the seventeenth consecutive week, but five areas of the country are now below their regional baselines.
Only 7 jurisdictions are still reporting high or very high flu activity, a sharp drop from 20 during the previous week. Test positivity for flu is now at 10.7%, down from 13.3% in last week’s report.
Hospitalizations and deaths are trending downward, but the CDC received reports of eight more pediatric flu deaths, raising the season’s total to 159.
The CDC has defined this season as high severity, and according to its latest estimate, there have been at least 44 million infections, 580,000 hospitalizations, and 25,000 deaths so far.
COVID wastewater levels decline to low
Meanwhile, COVID levels also continue to decline from already low levels, according to the CDC’s latest data updates. Wastewater detections last week declined from the medium to the low level, with detections highest in the South. The proportion of overall deaths that were from COVID last week was 0.9%, lower than the 1.5% for flu.
In its latest variant estimates, the CDC said the proportion of LP.8.1 viruses continues to rise, making up 55% last week, well above the declining levels of XEC, which is at 21%. LP.8.1 is a descendant of KP.1.1.3, which is part of the JN.1 lineage.
