Washington sees more doctor visits due to flu

SEATTLE – More cases of the flu have been reported by this point in the year than is usual in Washington state and around the country.

The Seattle Times reports that in the first week of December, 3.2% of doctor visits nationwide were from people with an influenza-like illness, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The national baseline – which uses date from the previous three seasons – is 2.4%.

Washington is one of the places with particularly high flu activity, along with Nebraska, Puerto Rico and a swath of Southern states stretching from Texas to Virginia, according to the CDC.

In Washington, 4.4% of doctor visits were from people with a flu-like illness – far above the state’s 1.5% baseline. And 2.78% of King County doctor visits were from flu patients, compared to a baseline of 1.45%.