CNN It’s only June, but scientists in the US are already thinking about flu season. As always at this time of year, they’re keeping a close eye on Australia, which saw an early start to its flu season. Some parts of the country are seeing a spike in illness, and the highest number of cases are among children. Those flu patterns could be an indicator of what’s to come in the US.
In the US, flu activity is currently low, as it usually is this time of year. The Covid-19 pandemic made flu season a little less predictable, but people generally don’t start getting sick until around October, and doctors’ offices don’t get really busy until somewhere between December and February. In the Southern Hemisphere, where it’s now winter, cases began increasing “sharply” in early May, the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care said Friday. It’s an earlier start of the season than some years; case numbers are higher than the five-year average, the agency said, but lower than around this time in 2019 and 2022.
Scientists are also watching the number of cases in kids. More children in Australia appear to be getting sick than other age groups this year.
American scientists typically look to Australia and some other countries to try to anticipate exactly how bad the flu will get in the US during its fall and winter.
“We closely monitor what happens in countries throughout the Southern Hemisphere this time of year, just to see what’s happening during their flu season. It’s not always a predictor of what’s going to happen here the next season, but yes, we do. We do closely monitor that all summer long,” said Carrie Reed, chief of the Influenza Division of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Epidemiology and Prevention Branch.