The weekly FluView influenza surveillance report shows the spread of the flu across the country. This report shows conditions across the country for the week ending Jan. 29, 2011.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) produces a weekly FluView influenza surveillance report designed for health professionals and compiled from reporting information collected from hospitals, laboratories and state health departments. The report details seasonal flu trends, as well as calling out any novel strains of the flu that have been detected.

All available reports suggest that it's flu season in Michigan. Here are some links to information from the CDC and from other sources of seasonal tracking data, including Google, which tracks flu trends based on search term analysis.

Tracking flu by cause of death

Influenza and pneumonia routinely account for between 6 and 8 percent of deaths, as measured by a CDC survey of morbidity and mortality across 122 U.S. cities. The fraction of deaths associated with these diseases shows a marked seasonal pattern as the chart below shows.

The CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report is a weekly summary of disease and illness reporting across the county. It started as the Bulletin of the Public Health in 1878, and received its current name and format in 1961. For years, it was the primary route by which the CDC produced rapid reporting about public health events, and its routine depth of reporting and statistical analysis is greatly helped by its transition from print to online formats.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Tracking flu by search term use

The Google Flu Trends service harnesses statistical tools and search query analysis to help determine the incidence of influenza world wide. Google researchers correlate search term usage with historical measurements of influenza as reported to the CDC and predict current flu activity based on current search traffic.

The CDC's reporting is thorough and scientific, but the nature of the publication and data collection process means that the data is always two weeks out of date. The Google approach gets current estimates with a hope to notice spikes in flu outbreaks before reports are finally in.

Google's estimates for Michigan show flu on the rise, but at a lower level than last year's peak activity in October 2009.

Google Flu Trends shows an estimate of flu activity rising in Michigan, based on search term use for key words and phrases used when people have the flu.

Google Flu Trends

State flu reporting

The Michigan Department of Community Health Influenza Website provides a state level tracking of flu, based on reporting from hospitals and county health departments. A weekly publication, MI FluFocus, recaps national and international trends and also collects and reports on detailed statewide information.

One element reported on in this week's FluFocus is flu in animals. Avian influenza (or "bird flu") was the cause of widespread infections worldwide in 2009. The USDA's Michigan Wild Bird Surveillance, as of Feb. 3, has tested more than 36,000 samples, including more than 1,200 from Michigan, with no reports of the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1. For more information, visit http://wildlifedisease.nbii.gov/ai/. To learn about avian influenza surveillance in Michigan wild birds or to report dead waterfowl, go to Michigan’s Emerging Disease website at http://www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases.

Flu information for you from flu.gov

All of the above information is aimed at professionals. For advice and suggestions about the flu season, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has produced a Flu.gov website with a comprehensive set of information and recommendations for flu care and prevention.

Among the resources on this site is a video from HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Sesame Street spokesmuppet Elmo with tips on staying healthy during flu season.

Edward Vielmetti is hoping not to catch the flu for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at EdwardVielmetti@AnnArbor.com.