Cold and Flu Health Center

Where's the Flu? Get Ready

Dec. 29, 2011 -- Where is this flu season we keep hearing about? Brace yourself.

Although it's seemed pretty quiet so far, flu season may already have arrived.

Although official CDC data show little flu activity throughout the U.S., it takes about two weeks to compile that data. More timely data from Google’s Flu Trends report  is showing "moderate" flu activity in the U.S. overall, with about half of states still in the "low" category. But Kentucky and Nevada have "high" flu activity. So do several cities -- Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Miami, and Washington, D.C. -- although Google Flu Trends for cities is still experimental.

Although the Google data are based on searches for flu information as opposed to actual cases, in recent years it's done a pretty good job of predicting what CDC will report. Also, the CDC provides a link to Google’s data off of its weekly flu report.

It may seem that flu season is getting a late start this year -- especially with the October peak of the 2009-2010 season -- but that's not the case. Last year, according to the CDC, flu activity started picking up in early January and peaked from mid-January to mid-February.