Ho, ho, oh no! Spike in influenza cases hits Pacific Northwest amid holiday gatherings
The most recent influenza data from Washington state’s Department of Health shows a notable spike in reported cases as Washington and the rest of the West Coast finds itself in the throes of flu season.
During the week of Dec. 15-21, flu activity in the state was listed as “high” by DOH.
The year-over-year trend lines for different regions showed that while most areas of the state were at or below last year’s number of emergency-room visits for flu or flulike illness, the Southwest region – including Clark, Cowlitz, Skamania and Wahkiakum counties – was running much higher than this time in 2023.
To date statewide, 5 lab-confirmed flu deaths and 23 “influenza-like” outbreaks in long-term care facilities have been reported for the 2024-2025 season.
The number of lab-confirmed flu-associated deaths so far is lower than at this time in the past two seasons, with 16 reported at this point last season and 93 in the 2022-2023 season, according to the report.
State DOH noted that in the most recent week of data, “4.5 percent of visits among Influenza-like Illness Network participants were for influenza-like illness, which was above the baseline of 2.1 percent.” The network is a collaboration between the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and healthcare providers to monitor outpatient visits for influenza-like illness.
It also noted that 14.1 percent of specimens tested by participating surveillance labs tested positive for flu, with types A and B reported.
Type A can affect both human and animals, while Type B generally only infects humans. Type A is the most common and typically fuels seasonal outbreaks and can cause more severe illness.
A chart accompanying the week’s update showed a noticeable spike compared with the previous weeks in tests reported by commercial labs and submitted to the CDC, while another chart of positive tests reported by Washington public health labs indicates that a spike in test-confirmed cases kicked in a few weeks ahead of Week 51.
During the 2023-2024 season, flu cases started to rise in early November and peaked in late December 2023.
A chart on the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department’s website also shows an upward trajectory of flu cases reported locally, with 3.8 percent of emergency department visits in the county in Week 51 tied to flu.
Scott Thompson, media representative for Tacoma-based MultiCare health system, told The News Tribune in response to questions Monday, “MultiCare has seen an increase in influenza cases in our emergency departments across our system. We’ve also had a significant increase in flu patients in the Puget Sound region.”
Thompson added that the system’s doctors attribute it to the typical spread seen amid holiday gatherings.
Nationwide, the CDC’s monitor map shows Oregon and Louisiana at the highest range of “very high” activity level, with California and Idaho also ranking “very high.”
Louisiana also made recent headlines with the first severe U.S. case of bird flu in a patient. Researchers believe a mutation of the virus led to the severity.