Augusta Area Flu Updates
2019 - 2020 Season 

February 29, 2020. Augusta’s flu season started in November, quite early for the average flu season, and has now seen two peaks in activity. We saw a peak in influenza B in late December, then a rapid replacement of flu B by influenza A, a related but distinctly different virus, starting around the New Year. Flu A appears to have peaked in the CSRA around the middle of February, and is now dropping rapidly. Augusta area hospitals are reporting rapidly dropping rates of positive tests for flu, both in children and in adults. We are on our way out of the flu season for 2019-2020, but will not see it truly gone from the CSRA for another 2-4 weeks.

Past Updates

February 22, 2020. Augusta’s flu season started in November, quite early for the average flu season, and has now seen two peaks in activity. We saw a peak in influenza B in late December, then a rapid replacement of flu B by influenza A, a related but distinctly different virus, starting around the New Year. Flu A appears to have peaked in the CSRA around the middle of February, and is now dropping rapidly. Augusta area hospitals are reporting rapidly dropping rates of positive tests for flu, both in children and in adults. We are on our way out of the flu season for 2019-2020, but will not see it truly gone from the CSRA for another 2-4 weeks.

February 10 2020 Augusta saw widespread flu in late December, most of it due to influenza B, which began circulating in early November. This is very early for flu season to start. In late December, flu B peaked just before Christmas, then started a rather rapid decline. Unfortunately, it has been largely replaced by influenza A, which began to increase in late December and is now by far the most common isolate of flu in the CSRA. Usually flu flares up in a region for 6-10 weeks, then fades rapidly. We are likely to see a substantially longer flu season in the Augusta area this year. The latest data indicate we are now in a second peak of flu activity, this time from flu A. This week, some Augusta area hospitals are reporting their highest rate of flu for the entire 2019-2020 season. An infection from flu B provides NO PROTECTION against flu A, which means some of us may get infected with flu twice this year. We likely have 3-6 more weeks of flu circulation in the CSRA. Look for flu to start fading by mid-March.

January 25, 2020. Augusta saw widespread flu in late December, most of it due to influenza B, which began circulating in early November. This is very early for flu season to start. In late December, flu B peaked just before Christmas, then started a rather rapid decline. Unfortunately, it has been largely replaced by influenza A, which began to increase in late December and is now by far the most common isolate of flu in the CSRA. What does this mean? Usually flu flares up in a region for 6-10 weeks, then fades rapidly. This year it looks like we may be in for a “double peak” season, the first peak from flu B, and the second peak from flu A. An infection from flu B provides NO PROTECTION against flu A, which means some of us may get infected with flu twice this year. And it means we probably have 3-6 more weeks of flu circulation in the CSRA.

December 28: Flu B has now firmly established itself in our community and appears to be peaking. Flu B is by far the most common isolate, but influenza A is now increasing as well. Augusta area hospitals are reporting relatively high rates of influenza, still mixed with other respiratory viruses, but with flu the most commonly detected virus in people with cough, sore throat, and fever. Christmas break from school often causes flu activity to decrease, albeit in many cases only temporarily. Look for flu B to continue its decline in the area. But it may be replaced by flu A. If so, we may have two peaks to our flu season this year.

December 7: As of December 7, flu remains active in Augusta and the CSRA, but it has not been a severe season thus far. We started seeing sustained transmission of influenza in mid-November, which is quite early. The rate of rise since then has not been high, and as of mid-December most of the respiratory infections in the CSRA are NOT caused by influenza. Most are still caused by other viruses that mimic the flu, thus the term “Influenza-Like Illness” (ILI). Most isolates nationally and locally have been Influenza B.

November 23: Flu activity picked up considerably in Augusta. In one large hospital, 16% of tests for influenza in children were positive, and 6% were positive in adults. Influenza infections in children often appear just before they begin to strike adults in high numbers. Flu season has arrived in Augusta. We can expect increasing levels of flu over the next 4-8 weeks, with a peak probably coming in January. Flu generally burns intensely for 6-10 weeks in a locality, then drops dramatically.

November 15, 2019: There have been sporadic cases of flu in Augusta area hospitals and clinics as of November 15, but nowhere near the level of activity expected in the heart of flu season. One large hospital in Augusta reported flu in 5% of its viral screens last week, but this also means 95% of the screens were positive for other respiratory viruses. These other viruses often mimic the flu, causing a Flu-Like Illness (ILI): fever plus cough or sore throat. We are on the threshold of the flu season in Augusta but we have not arrived yet.