Flu season

Updated on Feb. 14, 2024

While many states have enjoyed considerable weather improvements after dangerous wind chills in January, there isn't a notable overall increase in overall case rates for the flu.. Either way, having an idea on flu case trends in particular states gives facility cleaning managers the opportunity to reinforce best practices for hand hygiene, assess indoor air quality (IAQ) and increase frequencies for touchpoint disinfection.

One reliable tool to measure whether an outbreak is imminent in one’s community is the weekly flu tracker provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  The tracker, which provides updating information with their “Weekly U.S. Influenza Report” rates jurisdictions on 6-tier scale: Very High, High, Moderate, Low, Minimal, and Insufficient data. 

According to findings from Week 5 (which ended on Feb 9.) 8 jurisdictions were classified as “Very High” (up from 5 the previous week) while 14 were classified as "High"  — a slight drop from the previous week's 14 jurisdictions. Twelve jurisdictions classified as "Moderate” and the remaining jurisdictions either have classifications of “Low”, “Minimal”, or “Insufficient Data”. 

Keeping consistent throughout the entirety of the flu season, the central southern and southeastern states continue to take the brunt of high case rates. Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas continue to see a notable increase, although Florida has continued to improve after a peak over the Holiday season. Meanwhile, many Western states have seen things turn for the better overall, notably California, which classified as "Moderate" after nearly three consecutive months as "High". The Midwest continues to be notably better off than other regions, which the exceptions of Iowa, Nebraska, and Ohio reporting higher numbers of cases than the rest.

CleanLink will periodically check in on flu rates across the country with updated information throughout the winter.