An update from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that influenza activity in the US is showing sings of receding.
The CDC update said just 7 states and Puerto Rico reported high influenza-like illness (ILI) levels last week, as compared with 14 states and Puerto Rico the previous week. The states are Alabama, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, and Virginia.
In addition, 8 states and New York City reported moderate ILI activity, down from 13 states a week earlier. But 39 states, 1 fewer than a week earlier, were still reporting geographically widespread flu cases, the CDC reported.
Another declining marker was the estimated share of medical visits attributed to ILI, which dropped from 3.7% 2 weeks ago to 3.2% last week, the agency said. That number was still well above the national baseline of 2.1%.
Also dropping was the proportion of respiratory samples that tested positive for flu: 20.1% of 23,946 specimens last week, versus 23.1% of 25,855 the week before.
