Influenza cases finally decrease in NY, on the basis of the particularly ugly season

The influenza season seems to be out of the way, because cases are starting to decrease in New York, but it was a very bad season and it is not clear when it will end.

New York is not alone. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have ranked season 2024-25 as the first “High severity“The flu season in seven years.

During the week ending on March 1, New York Labs performed over 50,000 flu tests and 44% returned positiveA decrease of 25% compared to the previous week, according to the data of the State Health Department. In the same week, 1,442 patients were also hospitalized for the flu, which represented a decrease of 23% compared to the previous week.

But the weight of the flu tests returning positive at the beginning of March was still higher than at the same time last year and Number of cases and hospitalizations It has grown this season in general, according to state data.

“The funny thing about the flu is that it is different every year,” said Stephen Morse, an epidemiologist at the Public Health School of Columbia University. “Usually, it corresponds to the holidays and travel, but then we will sometimes see the flu appearing in a peak, descending, and then there will be another tip, usually smaller.”

Morse mentioned that the influenza returned after the cases gave up in the early years of the Covid-19 Pandemic, because people no longer take strict precautions in terms of masking and social distance.

The flu season in New York started in the middle of October this year and reached the maximum at the end of January, with 54,737 cases in a week. The November Peak of the flu season 2022-2023 approached this figure, but the state data shows that the cases decreased faster than they had this time.

Some public health experts say The current circulating strains may be to blame for this year’s influenza season, because they tend to spread faster and cause more severe symptoms than the stems in previous years.

Dr. Ravi Saksena, a pediatrician at South Slope Pediatrics, said at this year’s influenza season, “we were surprised when (patients) were not positive.”

He said that the most important caution to take to prevent infection is to get a flu stroke at the beginning of the season. Although flu vaccines are not 100%effective, “photography helps to ensure that the disease is not as prolonged and not as bad,” said Saksena.

This year Flu vaccines They were 32% efficient to 60% to prevent people under the age of 18 from obtaining the flu and 63% to 78% effective in preventing hospitalization, according to CDC data. But only about 27% of New Yorkers They obtained the flu fires this year.

Saksena said that the range of symptoms associated with the flu may vary depending on the stem a patient catch. Symptoms usually include fever, fatigue, body pain, flowing nose and sore throat, but can also come with problems such as nausea or vomiting.

Antiviral influenza drugs are optional, Saksena said. CDC says they can be beneficial for those who are more vulnerable, including under 2, adults over 65 and asthma patients.