Healthy Habits: This Year's Flu Season

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the 2017-2018 flu season was the worst in at least 40 years, resulting in 960,000 hospitalizations and 79,000 deaths. The flu is one of the most common yet serious infectious diseases, with up to 49 million Americans getting the virus each year.

In this video Dr. Michael Ison from Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University discusses the current flu season as well as the latest information in flu prevention and treatment options.

Flu season varies from year to year, but according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the 2017-2018 flu season was the worst in at least 40 years,[1] resulting in 960,000 hospitalizations and 79,000 deaths.[2] Influenza, or “flu,” is one of the most common yet serious infectious diseases, with up to 49 million Americans getting the virus each year.²

The flu is highly contagious and is transmitted when someone coughs, sneezes or talks.[3] Because it can spread easily from person to person, the flu can result in localized outbreaks, seasonal epidemics and global pandemics – representing a serious threat to public health.^2,[4] While flu viruses can be detected year-round in the U.S., they are most common during the fall and winter, with activity increasing in October and peaking between December and February.[5]

As flu activity ramps up nationwide, it’s a critical time to raise awareness of how to best prepare for the flu and what the latest treatment options are for those who get sick.

·       Dr. Michael Ison, Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, discusses the current flu season as well as the latest information in flu prevention and treatment options.

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Interview is courtesy of Genentech, a member of the Roche Group.

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[1] Associated Press. 80,000 people died of flu last winter in US. Retrieved November 27, 2018, from: https://www.apnews.com/818b5360eb7d472480ebde13da5c72b5

[2] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2018, October 25). Disease Burden of Influenza. Retrieved November 19, 2018, from: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/index.html

[3] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017, October 3). Key Facts About Influenza (Flu). Retrieved June 20, 2018, from: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/keyfacts.htm. (link no longer exists, but you can learn more about current flu statistics)

[4] World Health Organization. Influenza (Seasonal) [Internet; cited 2018 May 29]. Available from:

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs211/en.

[5] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2016, July 26). The Flu Season. Retrieved June 20, 2018, from: https://

www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/flu-season.htm.