Flu Season Is Here and Cases Are on the Rise

• Flu cases are on the rise in the United States.
• Last month, the WHO warned that this year’s flu vaccine may not be as effective at stopping the flu as experts had hoped.
• Flu season usually peaks in February.

About a month ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that this year’s flu vaccine might not be as effective as we’d hoped. The four strains it was designed to target didn’t match the strains circulating in the Southern Hemisphere: influenza A (H3N2) and influenza B (Victoria).

As expected, those two strains that hit the Southern Hemisphere are now striking the United States — in Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, and Puerto Rico.Trusted Source

The start to this year’s flu season has been a slow one, at least in much of the country.

As of Friday, November 15, there have been three pediatric deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) weekly flu reportTrusted Source. About 2.3 percent of visits to a healthcare provider were for an influenza-like illness, which is below the national baseline of 2.4 percent.

In addition, about 4.9 percent of all deaths were due to pneumonia and influenza, also below the epidemic threshold of 6 percent.

“Based on today’s surveillance report, flu activity is increasing nationally with significant spread of H1N1, H3N2, and influenza B/Victoria viruses. Different viruses are predominate in different places and among different age groups. Parts of the country are seeing an early start to their flu season, but other parts of the country are still seeing little activity,” Kristen Nordlund, a spokesperson for the CDC, told Healthline.

Here’s what’s going around

Health experts agree that it’s still far too soon to predict exactly how flu activity is going to pan out this year.

“So far, it is still too early to state whether this year’s flu season will be more or less than what is typical. It is important to note that even in a typical year, the flu has substantial impact,” says Dr. Richard Martinello, a Yale Medicine infectious diseases expert.

Flu season usually peaks around FebruaryTrusted Source, but surveillance charts are showing that flu activity is starting to pick up around the country.

We’re currently seeing three strains in the United States:

• A (H3N2), which circulated during the latter half of last year’s flu season
• B/Victoria, the strain the Southern Hemisphere saw
• H1N1, which we typically see this time of year