Could this year’s intense flu season be coming to an end in Arizona?

PHOENIX — This year’s flu season has been one of the worst in modern day history — and it is not over yet.

There have been nearly 28,000 diagnosed influenza cases so far this season, Dr. Terry Simpson told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona Morning News.

Simpson said this is a huge increase from the “typical” number of cases that are diagnosed by this time in the flu season, which is around 5,000.

“This is probably one of the worst pandemics that most people will see in their lifetime,” he said.

In addition, Simpson said five percent of all emergency room visits in Maricopa County are flu-related. There have been at least 523 pneumonia- and influenza-related deaths in Arizona to date.

Simpson said cases of the “bad” flu — the Influenza A virus subtype H3N2 — are decreasing but cases of Influenza B are on the rise, accounting for approximately 60 percent of all cases statewide.

While the Influenza B virus can be better for some people because the vaccine is more effective, Simpson said the virus is more dangerous for men over the age of 50 because it is associated with an onset of heart attacks.

The CDC said last month that the flu vaccine has only been 36 percent effective. There’s only been one other time in the last decade when the flu vaccine did a worse job.

But Simpson said that scientists are always working on better vaccines and are even testing a universal flu vaccine.

Is the worst of the flu season yet to come?

Arizonans can breathe a sigh of relief: While the flu season itself is not yet over, health officials believe it will not get any worse.

The season apparently peaked in early February and has been fading since, health officials said last week. The number of people going to the doctor with symptoms of the flu has continued to decline. Deaths from the flu or pneumonia are going down, too.

But it isn’t just Arizona: Reports of flu remained widespread in 45 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

“The season’s not over but we’re definitely on the downward trend right now,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, the CDC’s acting director.

Flu usually takes off after Christmas and peaks around February. This season started early and was widespread in many states by December. In early January, it hit what seemed like peak levels — but then continued to surge.

It had been driven by a kind of flu that tends to put more people in the hospital and cause more deaths, and officials lately are seeing less of that. But another kind that hits children hard has picked up steam. So far this season, health officials said 114 children nationwide have died from the flu.

Flu is a contagious respiratory illness, spread by a virus. It can cause a miserable but relatively mild illness in many people, but a more severe illness in others. In a bad season, there are as many as 56,000 deaths connected to the flu.

Simpson said the best ways to prevent the flu from spreading are by getting a flu shot, washing your hands, covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze and staying home when you are sick.

KTAR News’ Jim Cross and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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