Flu infections have started picking up. Here’s what to know.
Sore throat. Stuffy nose. Fever, body aches and fatigue. As temperatures drop, cases of the flu have started to rise.
For many people, the immune system can clear those symptoms in about a week. But for others, flu can lead to severe illness, hospitalization or even death. Flu infections cause up to 710,000 hospitalizations and 51,000 deaths every year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A new analysis by the C.D.C., which examined flu-related hospitalizations from 2010 to 2023, unpacks some of the factors that put people most at risk of severe health outcomes.
Age: Young children and older people are consistently hospitalized with the flu at the highest rates because their immune systems are less robust than those of older children or younger adults, meaning they are less capable of fending off infection.
There are two types of flu viruses that can wreak havoc every season: Type A and Type B. The highest hospitalization rates since 2010 occurred during flu seasons when influenza Type A viruses were predominant; the C.D.C. has said this is because older adults tend to be more affected by H3N2, a Type A virus.
Neurological disorders: Some children with neurological conditions such as epilepsy, cerebral palsy and A.D.H.D. may have trouble with muscle and lung function, and may have trouble coughing or clearing fluids from their airways. This can exacerbate flu symptoms or lead to pneumonia.