CDC Issues Health Advisory About Rising Flu Cases Among Kids, Young Adults

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a health advisory Wednesday that cases of influenza have been surging among young adults in current weeks.

While flu cases are still low across the world, more than 90 percent are among kids and young adults ages 5-24, according to the CDC.

Most outbreaks are of the H3N2 origin – a strain health experts announce is particularly problematic as it grows to mutate rapidly more than other variants of influenza. The previous time H3N2 was the prominent strain was the 2017-18 flu season when the United States had 710,000 flu-related hospitalizations and 52,000 flu-related deaths.  Which, according to the CDC is the worst since the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic.

The CDC has been analyzing a flu outbreak at the University of Michigan where hundreds of learners have tested positive for the flu. Flu outbreaksu has been noted at other college campuses in the past month as well.

Experts are anxious that college students and young people who may have been endangered to the flu could circulate it around the country as they travel home for the holidays.

“This is the time of the year when many people are going to be gathering together for the holidays for either Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s, and there’s just the potential to amplify it,” said Dr. Isaac Bogoch, a widespread disease expert at the University of Toronto.

“It’s coming. It’s not quite clear how large a flu season we’re going to have but we are going to have a flu season,” he said.