CDC Raises Arizona's Flu Activity To 'High'
Download mp3 (1.02 MB)Flu activity in Arizona has increased from “moderate” to “high,” according to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Nearly 13,000 cases of the flu have been reported throughout the state, more than half of which have been diagnosed in Maricopa County.
More alarming is the fact that 53% of those cases are in children ages zero to 18 years.
“We know that Influenza B usually affects young children more often than Influenza A, and so the thought is that since there was more B strain in the community, it is affecting the younger more than it is the older," said Amy Shoptaugh, a pediatrician in Tempe.
The Type B strain accounted for as much as 90% of flu cases in mid-December. That number has since decreased dramatically, falling below 50% in the CDC’s latest report.
