American experts warn that a virus causing what is being referred to as a “super flu” is spreading widely across the United States, while vaccination against this strain is not included in this year’s flu vaccine.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the national hospitalization rate increased by 14.3% as of Friday. Public health officials say the flu is spreading particularly fast in New York, Louisiana, and Colorado.
New Jersey and Rhode Island are also seeing high levels of flu cases, according to data collected since December 13. Meanwhile, Georgia, New Mexico, Idaho, Michigan, North and South Carolina, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. have reported an increase in hospital visits by patients with flu-like symptoms.
Experts say that during the year-end period and until the end of the flu season in February, the illness is expected to spread across every state to varying degrees. Analyses of the super flu found that 90% of influenza A viruses tested positive for the new strain.
This year’s flu vaccine does not cover influenza A, which is associated with the highest number of deaths among the elderly. Nevertheless, experts note that receiving the standard flu vaccine is still worthwhile, as it can help reduce the severity of symptoms.
According to the CDC, symptoms include fever, chills, cough, sore throat, runny nose, muscle and body aches, headaches, fatigue, and occasionally vomiting or diarrhea. While most people recover within a few days or weeks, complications such as pneumonia can be life-threatening.
