Later this year, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports, there is very little flu activity.
Lynette Brammer, who heads the CDC’s domestic flu surveillance program, is not yet ready to declare victory.
“I would wait a little longer before saying that we are completely out of danger,” Brammer told CNN. “The flu can do strange things.”
“At the moment, there is nowhere in the country where we have seen a real increase in the flu. It is very, very low everywhere,” said Brammer.
And 78 children died of the flu at the time last year. This year, only one pediatric influenza death has been reported.
“Flu activity is abnormally low at the moment, but could increase in the coming months,” says the CDC on its website.
It would come as no surprise if the precautions that many Americans are taking to prevent the spread of the coronavirus were also preventing the spread of the flu. The flu and other respiratory viruses, including the coronavirus, spread in a similar way – in small particles of mucus and saliva that are expelled when people cough, sneeze, speak and even breathe.
These particles fall on surfaces where people can pick them up with their hands or fingers and transfer them to their nose, mouth or eyes. They can also remain suspended in the air and spread in poorly ventilated environments. Or they can spray directly from one person or another.
Staying separate, wearing masks and avoiding crowded indoor situations can help to reduce spread, as well as frequent hand washing.
“Measures taken to slow or prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 are likely to have had an impact on the spread of other pathogens, including influenza. Measures, including extensive reductions in global travel, teleworking, school closures, social detachment and the use of a face mask may have played a role, “says the CDC. “Fewer trips probably played a role.”
Each year, hundreds of different viruses cause flu-like symptoms among people. They include influenza, but also viruses such as adenovirus, rhinovirus, parainfluenzavirus, metapneumovirus and respiratory syncytial virus or RSV. Then there are the common coronaviruses, from garden varieties.
“Although the flu is very low, all other respiratory viruses except Covid are also very low,” said Brammer. “There was a little bit of rhinovirus, but that’s it.”
The CDC emphasized the need for flu vaccination and is now preparing figures on how many Americans have been vaccinated against influenza this season. But each year, only about half of the people who are supposed to get the flu shots actually get them. The CDC recommends that everyone from 6 months old receive one, with some exceptions.
And it’s not too late to get the flu shot, Brammer noted.
While there is evidence that people do not seek the right medical care in many cases for fear of contracting the coronavirus in a hospital or clinic, or for fear of stressing an already overburdened medical system, Brammer believes that the flu test is accurately capturing o spread – or lack thereof.
“There is probably a slightly greater amount of testing than you would normally see in a low flu season,” she said.
It is good news on more than one level. Doctors were very concerned that the flu and coronavirus could circulate during the winter. People can be infected with two viruses at the same time – and that would be serious. But as the flu also gets people to the hospital, that would put even more pressure on an already overburdened system.
One thing is certain, says the CDC. The flu can surprise you.
It varies a lot from one year to the next, and the CDC and infects somewhere between 9.3 million and 45 million people a year. The flu kills between 12,000 and 61,000 people a year and puts between 140,000 and 810,000 in the hospital.
In some years, the flu season starts early – in September or October. In other years, it may come later, only gaining strength in January and February. Sometimes there are two waves of flu, and often one strain strikes earlier and a second strain strikes later – sometimes in late April.
Brammer said there is some evidence that flu activity is increasing in parts of Asia, which has eased restrictions on controlling the coronavirus.
“When they relax with these measures, the flu comes back,” she said.
The flu circulates throughout the year – it usually occurs at very low levels in the summer, but there are no rules.
“I think I’m going to stay on the edge of the chair,” she said. “The flu can start to happen. Keep your eyes open.”