CDC Reports Flu Outbreaks in 16 States

The flu season and all its misery is here, just in time for the holidays.

Influenza has struck at least 16 states and the District of Columbia this season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. Most states reporting cases of the flu said they had sporadic cases, but Alaska and Montana in October reported somewhat more widespread outbreaks.

November is about the normal time for the arrival of flu season, which gains strength as families and friends gather at Thanksgiving. Outbreaks usually start in December, in time for Christmas and Hanukkah.

The states reporting the flu from October through Nov. 11 were Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. Most state officials were unavailable Friday because of the holiday.

It is still too early in the year to predict the severity of the flu season, according to the CDC.

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The CDC’s flu report was delayed by the recent government shutdown. The agency’s influenza researchers rely on state health departments and volunteer doctors to help track flu cases across the country. That information was sent to Atlanta despite the budget impasse, which had furloughed most CDC workers.

When the researchers returned Monday, they scrambled to compile the information in time for the CDC’s weekly report on the nation’s health.

The CDC recommends that people get flu shots beginning in mid-October, although those at high risk, such as the elderly and children with asthma, can continue to get the flu shot even after the flu has struck in their community.

Flu contributes to the deaths of about 20,000 people in the United States each year. Ten percent to 20% of the U.S. population gets the flu annually.