There is hardly any flu this year. Limitations of the coronavirus could be responsible

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But this year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, there’s very little influenza activity.

The CDC’s flu activity map in the US is often a sea of ​​red during the first half of February – red means the number of cases is high and increasing. But throughout the flu season so far this year, the map has been a reassuring green wash – indicating little to no flu activity.

Lynette Brammer, head of the CDC’s domestic flu surveillance program, isn’t ready to declare victory yet.

“I’d wait a little longer before I say we’re all out of the woods,” Brammer told CNN. “Flu can do strange things.”

But the numbers are compelling. The same week last year, the CDC reported widespread flu activity in nearly every US region, with “high” activity in 45 states. In an average year, hundreds of thousands of people with the flu are hospitalized. So far this flu season, only 155 people confirmed to have flu have been hospitalized.

“Right now, we don’t see a real upsurge in the flu anywhere in the country. It’s very, very low pretty much everywhere,” Brammer said.

And last year, 78 children had died of the flu at this point. Only one death from pediatric flu has been reported this year.

“Flu activity is unusually low at the moment, but could increase in the coming months,” the CDC says on its website.

Flu is widespread in the US.

It would come as no surprise if the precautions many Americans are taking to prevent the spread of the coronavirus have also prevented the spread of the flu. Influenza and other respiratory viruses, including coronavirus, spread in similar ways – on tiny mucus and saliva particles that spit out when people cough, sneeze, talk, and even breathe.

These particles fall on surfaces where people can pick them up on their hands or fingers and transfer them to that nose, mouth or eyes. They can also linger in the air and spread in poorly ventilated areas. Or they can spray directly from one or the other.

Staying apart, wearing masks, and avoiding busy indoor situations can all help slow the spread, as can frequent hand washing.

“It is likely that measures taken to slow down or prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 have influenced the spread of other pathogens, including influenza. The use of face masks may have played a role,” the report says. CDC. “Less travel probably played a role.”

Every year, hundreds of different viruses cause flu-like symptoms in humans. They include influenza, but also viruses such as adenovirus, rhinovirus, parainfluenza virus, metapneumovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus or RSV. Then there are the common, garden variety coronaviruses.

So far this season, 105 American children have died of a record

“Although the flu was very low, all other respiratory viruses except Covid were also very low,” Brammer said. “There has been a little bit of rhinovirus, but that’s about it.”

The CDC emphasized the need for flu vaccination and is now compiling figures on how many Americans have been vaccinated against flu this season. But each year, only about half of the people who should get flu vaccines actually get them. The CDC recommends that everyone from the age of 6 months get one, with a few exceptions.

And it’s not too late to get a flu shot, Brammer noted.

While there is some evidence that in many cases people are not seeking appropriate medical care because they are afraid of contracting the coronavirus in a hospital or clinic, or because they are concerned about an already overwhelmed medical system, Brammer believes influenza research is the dissemination – or lack thereof.

“There is probably a little more testing than you would normally see in a low flu season,” she said.

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It’s good news on more than one level. Doctors were very concerned that flu and coronavirus would both circulate in the winter. People can be infected with two viruses at the same time – and that would be serious. But because flu also puts people in the hospital, it would have meant even more pressure on an already stretched system.

One thing is for sure, the CDC says. Flu can surprise you.

It varies widely from year to year, and the CDC infects anywhere from 9.3 million to 45 million people each year. Flu kills anywhere from 12,000 to 61,000 people a year and hospitalizes anywhere from 140,000 to 810,000.

Some years the flu season starts early – in September or October. Other years it may come later, not picking up steam until January and February. Sometimes there are two waves of flu and often one kind will strike early and a second kind later – sometimes as late as April.

Brammer said there are indications that flu activity is increasing in parts of Asia that have relaxed restrictions designed to keep the coronavirus in check.

“If they take less action, the flu will come back,” she said.

Influenza circulates year round – it’s usually only at very low levels in the summer, but there are no rules.

“I think I’ll stay on the edge of my seat,” she said. ‘Flu can develop. Keep your eyes open. ‘

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