Flu season data
Week ending January 9, 2010
Flu activity
Widespread flu activity |
Regional flu activity |
Localized flu activity |
Sporadic flu activity |
No flu activity |
No report available |
The flu activity indicator is provided by the US Centers for Disease Control, and indicates how widespread -- not how severe -- flu (both seasonal and H1N1) is in a given area. CDC monitors the flu season closely, and collects data from multiple sources:
- Public health laboratories in all fifty states
- ILINet, a nationwide network of medical facilities reporting on influenza-like illness (ILI)
- Deaths reported to vital statistics offices in 122 cities around the country
- The Emerging Infections Program, monitoring flu-related hospitalization in 12 major metropolitan areas
- Reports from epidemiologists in each state
Source: CDC flu surveillance.
Flu mortality
All deaths in Kansas are reported to KDHE, which provides weekly information on the total number of deaths of all types, as well as deaths related to flu and pneumonia. KDHE also publishes news releases tracking deaths related to H1N1.
Deaths (all causes) | 604 |
---|---|
Flu/pneumonia deaths (all types) | 41 |
H1N1 deaths | 1 |
Under 5 | 0 |
---|---|
5-18 | 0 |
19-24 | 0 |
25-49 | 23 |
50-64 | 51 |
65+ | 453 |
Unknown | 1 |
Total (all ages) | 528 |
Source: KDHE epidemiology reports and news releases.
Self-reported influenza-like illness
Kansas participates in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a nationwide health survey coordinated by the Centers for Disease Control. The BRFSS questionnaire gathers information on general health, behaviors (such as smoking) which constitute health risks, use of preventive care and certain types of chronic diseases and injuries.
In September 2009, the BRFSS questionnaire was revised to include flu-related questions. Flu-related results from the revised BRFSS questionnaire are published by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) as part of its weekly reports on flu epidemiology in Kansas.
Although the information gathered through BRFSS is useful as a monitoring tool, a few important points must be stressed:
- BRFSS data is self-reported: the information comes from people describing their own health and their families' health, not from doctors or other medical professionals.
- The BRFSS questions gather data on influenza-like illness (ILI). Because this is not tied to any medical diagnosis, reports of ILI do not necessarily correspond to actual cases of flu.
- Due to the nature of the survey, BRFSS data can lag somewhat behind other indicators. Each report of BRFSS data covers questionnaire responses for a two-week period.
Self-reported influenza-like illness in Kansas, 12/16/2009-12/31/2009
Adults reporting ILI within previous 2 weeks | 1.0% |
---|---|
Adults reporting ILI within previous 4 weeks | 6.8% |
Children reporting ILI within previous 4 weeks | 24.7% |
Housholds reporting ILI within previous 4 weeks | 24.9% |
Source: BRFSS (via KDHE epidemiology reports).
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