Wednesday, January 7, 2026- Health officials in Illinois are sounding the alarm as flu‑like illness activity has surged to “very high” levels statewide, the most severe category tracked by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Illinois Department of Public Health reports the state’s first pediatric influenza death of the 2025‑26 season.
Emergency room visits and hospital admissions tied to respiratory illness have climbed sharply in recent weeks, with children and young adults driving much of the increase. State health leaders stress that hospitals and clinics are feeling the strain as influenza cases continue rising across communities.
Public health experts link the rapid escalation in flu activity to a mutated strain of Influenza A (H3N2) known as the Subclade K variant, now dominant in many parts of the country and frequently identified in positive flu tests.
While symptoms like fever, body aches, coughing, and sore throat remain common, clinicians are also reporting unusual patterns — including more persistent high fevers and gastrointestinal signs in both children and adults — fueling concern among providers who are seeing heavier patient loads and earlier, aggressive presentations of the illness.
With vaccination coverage remaining relatively low in Illinois — only about one in five residents has received a flu shot this season — health officials and medical leaders are urging everyone, especially the elderly, young children, pregnant individuals, and people with underlying conditions, to get vaccinated and take preventive steps.
They also emphasize the importance of staying home when sick, good hand hygiene, and early treatment if symptoms develop. As this heightened surge continues, Illinois is bracing for more weeks of elevated influenza activity that could intensify further before the season peaks.
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