WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- The weekly flu report published Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that three additional children died in the week ending Jan. 19.
A total of 22 influenza-associated pediatric deaths have been reported for the 2018-2019 influenza season, according to CDC.
The flu activity kept intensifying in the country as 16.1 percent of respiratory specimens were tested positive for flu viruses during that week, increasing from 12.7 percent in the previous week.
More than 4,200 lab-confirmed people were hospitalized due to flu, and the majority of them were adults aged above 65 years and children younger than 5 years, according the the report.
About 98 percent of the 752 influenza-positive tests reported to CDC were influenza A viruses. The H1N1 virus strain called pdm09 is the most widely confirmed influenza A strain this winter, according to the report.
However, the H3N2 virus, another kind of influenza A virus, which dominated influenza spread last year, played havoc in the southeastern region of the country.
CDC expects that elevated flu activity will continue for weeks and the the best way to protect against it is vaccination.
