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“Today’s flu data show activity is down significantly for the second consecutive week, which means we peaked in early February,” CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund
Here’s what you should know about the flu season this year
This year's flu season is turning out to be so intense that the number of people seeking care at doctors' offices and emergency rooms is almost as high as levels reported during the peak of the 2009-2010 swine flu pandemic, federal officials have said. It has already caused the most hospitalizations in nearly a decade, they said. During the week ending Feb. 24, 17 children's deaths from flu were reported to federal health officials, bringing the total pediatric deaths so far this season to at least 114 nationwide.
The latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows signs that this harsh flu season appears to be leveling off. For the second consecutive week, the percentage of doctor visits for fever, cough and other flu symptoms has dropped from the week before. But the rise in infections by a secondary flu strain could lead to a late-season uptick in flu activity.