CDC warns
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned on Friday that another flu season might be coming as indicated by an outbreak in Georgia.
The CDC issued the warning after Georgia reported a sharp increase in influenza cases, mostly among school-aged children.
Although Georgia called it a regional outbreak, CDC officials said this was the first signs of flu season despite the fact that winter hasn't come yet.
The Georgia cases may be an early sign of what's in store for the rest of the country once flu season really gets under way in the winter, CDC officials said.
"Flu is coming," Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said. "This fall has begun like so many influenza seasons, with relatively few flu viruses circulating through the end of November."
The flu strains circulating so far seem to be a close match for this season's vaccine, said CDC officials.
The vaccine is a good match for the H1N1 pandemic strain and flu strains seen so far, including H2N2, H3N2 and the influenza B virus, officials said.
In Georgia, influenza B is the strain that is being seen most right now, Schuchat said. "The majority of B viruses from Georgia are related to the B virus that is in our vaccine, so we expect the vaccine to be a good match against this B strain that is already causing quite a bit of disease," she said.
Schuchat called on all Americans, except children under 6 months of age, to get a flu shot. "I strongly encourage people to get vaccinated to make sure you're protected and to make sure your children are protected too," she said.
The CDC has designated next week as National Influenza Vaccination Week.