2012–2013 flu season

Flu epidemic in the United States

The 2012–2013 flu season was an epidemic flu season in the United States.

## United States

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By the week ending 29 December 2012, the CDC reported that 29 U.S. states had high numbers of reports of flu.[1] By 13 January, nearly all U.S. states had experienced elevated influenza levels.[2]

In 9 January after the city of Boston received reports of 700 cases of flu and 4 deaths, the city declared a public health emergency.[3] Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said that "people should take the threat of flu seriously" and that people should receive the influenza vaccine and practice health safety.[4]

By 7 January 2013, there were 15,000 cases of flu reported in the state of New York.[5] In the previous year's entire flu season, there were only 4,400 cases in the same region.[5] New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a Public Health Emergency, relaxing regulations as to whom pharmacists can immunize.[6]

### Vaccination

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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommends that all persons in the United States receive an annual influenza vaccine. In January 2013, the CDC reported that the vaccine available in the United States had a 62% vaccine efficacy with a 95% confidence interval of 51%-71%.[7]

## China

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Influenza A virus subtype H3N2 infections have predominated in China, which since November has reported low levels of flu infection[8][9]

## European Union

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The European Union reported low but increasing levels of flu infection in the first week of 2013.[10]

## See also

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* United States influenza statistics by flu season

## References

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1. ^ Landau, Elizabeth (10 January 2013). "Flu picks up steam across the U.S. - CNN.com". cnn.com. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
2. ^ "A snapshot of influenza in all 50 states - Associated Press". 13 January 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
3. ^ Perez, Alex (9 January 2013). "Flu Outbreak Swamps Hospitals - ABC News". abcnews.go.com. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
4. ^ Weise, Elizabeth; Eversley, Melanie (10 January 2013). "700 cases of flu prompt Boston to declare emergency". USA Today. McLean, VA: Gannett. ISSN 0734-7456. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
5. ^ a b Evans, Heidi (7 January 2013). "Flu outbreak in 2013 expected to be among the worst in decade, CDC warns - NY Daily News". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
6. ^ New York Declares Flu Emergency The Telegraph, 13 January 2013
7. ^ CDC (18 January 2013). "Early estimates of seasonal influenza vaccine effectiveness--United States, January 2013". MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 62 (2): 32–35\. PMC 4604840. PMID 23325354.
8. ^ "CDC - Seasonal Influenza: International Situation Update". cdc.gov. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
9. ^ "Chinese National Influenza Center". cnic.org.cn. 30 December 2012. Archived from the original on 2 February 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
10. ^ "Influenza activity gradually increasing in the WHO European Region". EuroFlu - Weekly Electronic Bulletin (470). World Health Organization. 11 January 2013. Archived from the original on 27 December 2012. "31/12/2012-06/01/2013"

## External links

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* the CDC's frequently asked questions about the 2012-2013 flu season