As a trusted community resource, Cooperative Extension can play an important role in educating the public about the importance of immunizations, particular in the months immediately preceding flu season. Our friends that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have made it easy for us to do just that through their digital media tool kit focused on vaccinations. CDC’s seasonal flu vaccination campaign materials are available to partners like Cooperative Extension to assist them...

As a trusted community resource, Cooperative Extension can play an important role in educating the public about the importance of immunizations, particular in the months immediately preceding flu season. Our friends that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have made it easy for us to do just that through their digital media tool kit focused on vaccinations. CDC’s seasonal flu vaccination campaign materials are available to partners like Cooperative Extension to assist them...

A new CDC study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases external icon underscores the burden of influenza (flu) among children (0-17 years old) during nine flu seasons after the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. Researchers looked at pediatric flu hospitalizations recorded in the US Flu Hospitalization Surveillance Network (FluSurv-NET) from 2010-2019. The study found that pediatric flu-related hospitalization rates were consistently highest among children younger than 6 months who are too young to get...

CDC confirmed the bird flu virus detected in a person in the US is an H5N1 virus. H5N1 bird flu viruses first emerged in mid-90s to cause poultry outbreaks and human infections with a greater than 60% mortality rate. Over time H5N1 viruses have evolved. Current H5N1 viruses spreading in wild birds and poultry in the US and globally are genetically different from earlier versions of the virus. Learn more about the emergence and evolution of the H5N1 bird flu here.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently confirmed two human infections with a variant of a flu virus that is usually spread among pigs. The infected individuals had direct contact with pigs at an agricultural fair, where pigs also tested positive for the variant. For more information visit https://www.cdc.gov/flu/swineflu/spotlights/human-infections-swineflu.htm Recent reports of an increase in swine flu outbreaks in pigs in the U.S. suggest the risk of exposure and infection...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just released their recommendations for the 2022-2023 flu season. The basic vaccine has been updated from last year to protect against new variants and a new vaccine cocktail is now recommended specifically for individuals 65 or older. For more information, visit https://www.cdc.gov/flu/season/faq-flu-season-2022-2023.htm

CDC's Influenza Division posted the first full FluView report of the 2022-2023 flu season. The report shows flu activity is increasing across most of the U.S. Flu activity is highest and increasing the most in the southeast and south-central parts of the country.