flu season is fierce, already claiming the lives of at least 30 children in the US

 flu season is fierce, already claiming the lives of at least 30 children in the US

The flu blanketed the U.S. again last week for the third straight week. Only Hawaii has been spared.

The government doesn't track every flu case but comes up with estimates. One measure is how many people seek medical care.

Last week, 1 in 15 doctor visits were for symptoms of the flu. That's the highest level since the swine flu pandemic in 2009.

Thirty-nine states reported high flu traffic last week, up from 32 the week before.

Some good news, at least so far: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that hospital stays and deaths from the flu among the elderly so far haven't been as high as in some other recent flu seasons.

However, hospitalization rates for people 50 to 64 — Baby Boomers, mostly — has been unusually high, CDC officials said.

The CDC reported what was seen across the nation for the week ending January 20.

Flu is a contagious respiratory illness, spread by a virus. It can cause a miserable but relatively mild illness in many people, but more a more severe illness in others. Young children and the elderly are at greatest risk from flu and its complications. In a bad season, there are as many as 56,000 deaths connected to the flu.

In the U.S., annual flu shots are recommended for everyone age 6 months or older.

Health officials say this year's correctly shot targets the strains that are making Americans sick, including one causing most of the illness, a Type A H3N2 flu virus. But exactly well it is working won't be known until next month.

The same virus was the dominant flu bug last winter, when the flu season wasn't so bad. It's not clear why this season — led by the same bug — is so much more intense, some experts said.

"That's the kicker. This virus really doesn't look that different from what we saw last year," said Richard Webby, a flu researcher at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis.

It may be that many of the people getting sick this year managed to avoid infection last year. Or there may be some degree of mutation in the virus that hasn't been detected yet, said the CDC's Dr. Dan Jernigan, in a call with reporters Friday.

Based on patterns from past seasons, it's likely flu season will start to wane soon, experts say. There are some places, like California, where flu season already seems to be easing, CDC officials said.

"If I was a betting man, I'd put money on it going down," Webb said. "But I've lost money on bets before."

Jennifer Manton got sick with the flu about two weeks ago, hit by high fever and body aches. She missed two days of work, and felt bad for about 10 days.

"I had not had the flu since 1996," said Manson, 48, a chief marketing officer for a law firm in New York City. "It's been 22 years since I felt that badly."

lives of at least 30 children in the US

Dylan Winnik stayed home from school on Tuesday with common cold-like symptoms. Hours later, he was gone. The 12-year-old from West Palm Beach, Florida, is the latest child to die from this year's deadly influenza outbreak, and his sudden passing left both his family and community stunned.

"Don't mess around with the flu," his stepdad Mike Medwin told WPTV. "It's not going to somebody else. It can happen right in your neighborhood, right in your home. It happened to us. Lightning struck."

The seventh grader was grappling with fatigue and a runny nose, but when his parents checked his temperature, the thermometer registered around the normal 98 degrees. By the time Dylan's symptoms escalated, the emergency rescue crews were too late.

"Please implore other parents to not take the flu lightly whatsoever," Medwin told WPTV. Dylan hadn't received a flu shot this year, an important first line of defense. His family, friends, and classmates honored Dylan today by wearing orange, his favorite color. Medwin has also started a GoFundMe benefiting a funeral and memorial expenses as well as support services for Dylan's two brothers.

While a medical examiner is yet to release the official cause of Dylan's death, his family said they were told that "complications from a very aggressive form of the flu" had killed him.

Doctors have linked flu activity to 30 pediatric deaths so far this season, and Centers for Disease Control officials warn that the fierce, deadly season still hasn't peaked.

If you observe symptoms in a child like bluish skin color, difficulty breathing, or trouble waking up, seek medical help right away. Not everyone with the flu will exhibit a fever, but abrupt onset of symptoms, chest discomfort, fatigue, and headaches often signal the flu instead of a cold.

To protect your children and yourself, experts say the first and best line of defense is a flu shot. Getting more people vaccinated protects others from getting the flu, but it can also mitigate complications if you do contract the disease. A 2018 study in Pediatrics looking at hundreds of cases showed that immunization significantly reduces a child's risk of dying from influenza.

"Even if you get the flu, having received the flu vaccine may help you in terms of not having as serious a course," Dr. Patricia Whitley-Williams, professor and chief of the division of pediatric allergy, immunology, and infectious diseases at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, told CNN. "It may prevent you from being hospitalized."

With flu season potentially lasting until May, it's not too late to get a flu shot. It could help save a life.