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Fluwatch : Home

​Office of Governor 

Welcome to the influenza surveillance reporting website, brought to you by the Division of Communicable Disease Surveillance in the Center for Surveillance, Infection Prevention, and Outbreak Response at the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH).

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MARYLAND RESIDENTS: We Need Your Help!

Maryland residents can now help DHMH track influenza activity in Maryland. Click here to read all about the program. Or you can follow important project updates on Facebook.

CURRENT WEEK INFLUENZA ACTIVITY SUMMARY
​
During the week ending October 13, 2012, influenza-like illness (ILI) intensity in Maryland was MINIMAL and there was sporadic geographic spread of influenza.

This means that there was minimal influenza-like illness reported, and one PCR-positive influenza test was reported last week.

One influenza-associated hospitalizations were reported. No outbreaks of respiratory disease were reported, and the visits to sentinel providers and Maryland emergency departments for ILI were below expected levels.​

For more detailed information, please read the full weekly report ​in a new web page. Or click here to view and download it as a PDF.
INFLUENZA SURVEILLANCE INDICATORS

Geographic Spread
One of the indicators we look at is the geographic spread of influenza activity. By looking at where sentinel providers are reporting flu-like illnesses and from where specimens are being submitted for testing, we can tell whether influenza is not active, sporadic, local, regional, or widespread. This is not an indicator of disease severity, only of where the disease is located in Maryland.

​Week Ending​ ​Geographic Spread Interpretation​
​October 13, 2012 Sporadic​ ​One PCR-positive test with ILI visits to providers below baseline.
​October 6, 2012 ​No Activity There were no PCR positive tests for influenza reported this week.​
 
Influenza-like Illness Intensity
A second indicator we look at is the proportion of visits to sentinel providers for influenza-like illness (ILI). Intensity is measured against a baseline proportion of visits on a scale of minimal, low, moderate, and high.

​Week Ending ​ILI Intensity ​Interpretation
​October 13, 2012 ​Minimal ​​The proportion of people visiting sentinel providers for (ILI) was very low, compared to baseline.
​October 6, 2012 Minimal​​ ​The proportion of people visiting sentinel providers for (ILI) was very low, compared to baseline.
 
Predominant Influenza Strain
A third indicator we look at is the predominant strain of influenza circulating in Maryland. This is important because different strains have different implications for the community. For example, a "novel" or "variant" strain will not have a vaccine available against it for a while. There are also some strains of influenza that have developed resistance against antiviral medication. And there are some strains that will not match the strains in the seasonal flu vaccine. Knowing what is circulating is important in planning and responding to influenza outbreaks. Refer to the weekly report for a full breakdown of the PCR test results reported.

​Week Ending ​Predominant Strain
​October 20, 2012 ​ (Preliminary​) Type A (H3) influenza
​October 13, 2012 ​Type B influenza
​October 6, 2012​ There were no PCR positive tests for influenza reported this week.​