The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) latest weekly update—FluView—on the onset of the flu season in the United States shows a steady climb in the number of cases being reported. The number of states reporting “wide-spread geographic influenza activity” is now listed at 41. Only Guam, thus far, has reported no influenza activity. The CDC also reports that the number of people being hospitalized is also up slightly from 2011 largely because of the early onset of the flu season.

The 2012-2013 flu season is also the earliest onset since the 2003-2004 season, and as the CDC reports, that season was particularly hard on children. A total of 18 deaths have been reported thus far in relation to the 2012-2013 flu season. One positive aspect is that the flu vaccine appears to be a good match for the particular flu strain that is circulating. This has prompted the CDC, news organizations, state, and local authorities to continue to encourage people to get the vaccination.