Kane County Health Department partner participants have reported the following aggregate measures:

• Among five reporting hospital emergency rooms, 14.1 percent of visits were for influenza-like illness.
• During Week 6, six labs reported that 517 of 1,390 (37.2 percent) of specimens tested for influenza were positive. Of these 517 specimens:
  • 406 (78.5 percent) were positive for Influenza A
  • 110 (21.3 percent) were positive for Influenza B
  • 1 (0.2 percent) was positive for Influenza A/B
• No other specimen tested positive for the week ending Feb. 10, 2018.
• The ILI absenteeism rate for public schools in Kane County was 1.26 percent.
• No public school was closed for increased ILI activity.
• As of the week ending Feb. 10, there have been 50 cases of influenza-related ICU admission reported to the health department. No influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported.
• To date, 17 outbreaks of influenza have been reported in Long- Term Care/Assisted Living facilities in Kane County.

KCHD is offering walk-in flu clinics at its Aurora office, 1240 N. Highland Ave. Please call the Bee Wize Immunize phone-line at (866) 233-9493.

CDC Week 6 Flu Report

During Week 6 (Feb. 4 to Feb. 10, 2018), influenza activity remained elevated in the United States.

• Viral Surveillance: The most frequently identified influenza virus subtype reported by public health laboratories during week 6 was influenza A(H3). The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza in clinical laboratories remained elevated.

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  Pneumonia and Influenza Mortality: The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) was above the system-specific epidemic threshold in the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Mortality Surveillance System.

• Influenza-associated Pediatric Deaths: Twenty-two influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported.
• Influenza-associated Hospitalizations: A cumulative rate of 67.9 laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated hospitalizations per 100,000 population was reported.
• Outpatient Illness Surveillance: The proportion of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) was 7.5 percent, which is above the national baseline of 2.2 percent. All 10 regions reported ILI at or above region-specific baseline levels. New York City, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and 43 states experienced high ILI activity; two states experienced moderate ILI activity; three states experienced low ILI activity; and two states experienced minimal ILI activity.
• Geographic Spread of Influenza: The geographic spread of influenza in Puerto Rico and 48 states was reported as widespread; one state reported regional activity; the District of Columbia, Guam and one state reported local activity; and the U.S. Virgin Islands reported no activity.