CDC: 706 new cases of influenza confirmed for 2011

CDC. FluView Report.

A total of 706 new cases of influenza were reported during the first week of 2011, according to the CDC’s weekly FluView report.

From Jan. 2 to Jan. 6, 706 of 4,331 specimens tested by WHO and the National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System were positive for influenza, bringing the total number of influenza cases to 8,764 since Oct. 3, 2010.

In week 1, influenza A accounted for 73.8% of the influenza cases, and influenza B accounted for 26.2%. Among the influenza A cases, 31.5% of these were subtyped at influenza A (H3) and 7.7% were subtyped as influenza A (2009 H1N1). The remaining cases were not subtyped.

There were four influenza-associated pediatric deaths reported during week 1. Eight pediatric deaths have been reported during the 2010-2011 season: One death was associated with a non-subtyped influenza A virus, four deaths were associated with influenza A (H3) and three deaths were associated with influenza B virus. The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza overall during week 1 was 7.7%, and was at epidemic threshold.

The proportion of visits for influenza-like illness during week 1 was 2.2%, which is less than the national baseline. One region reported influenza-like illnesses more than the region-specific baseline level. Four states reported high influenza-like illness activity. Four states experienced low influenza-like illness activity. Forty-two states experienced minimal influenza-like illness activity. New York City experienced moderate influenza-like illness activity. The District of Columbia had insufficient data.

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