Protect your family: Flu season seeing a late spike in California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Department of Public Health is warning people about a late-season spike in reported flu-like illnesses.

A spike occurred in early January and decreased slightly after that, but the number of reported influenza-like illnesses surged once again in mid-February, to the highest number of reported instances this season. It’s on a slow decline now, but flu season is very much still a danger.

The CDPH says the numbers of reported flu cases and hospitalizations due to flu-like symptoms are both currently “above expected levels” for this time of year.

Nationally, reported cases of flu-like illnesses are up as well, according to the CDC.

The dominant strain this flu season is Influenza A (H1N1)pdm09, and the CDPH says this season’s preliminary flu vaccine efficacy estimate for preventing laboratory-confirmed flu is 47 percent.

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“It’s not too late to get vaccinated,” the CDPH says. “Vaccination is the best protection against this potentially serious disease.”

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While California is currently experiencing a spike for this flu season, the 2017-18 season was worse, with more hospitalizations and reported outpatient cases.

RELATED: Why washing your hands well is so important to protect your family from the flu

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