Widespread activity was reported in 25 states last week, including Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska and Oklahoma, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.  Missouri and Iowa reported regional outbreaks according to the CDC’s weekly flu advisory report, covering the week ending Dec. 28.  
“Widespread” means that more than 50% of geographic regions in a state -- counties, for example -- are reporting flu activity. It addresses the spread of the flu, not its severity.
So far, “it’s a typical influenza season, if I can use that word,” Dr. Michael Jhung, a medical officer in the CDC’s flu division, told CNN last week.
The number of flu cases in the state and locally are beginning to inch up closer to last year’s historically peak levels, according to data at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE).  The season usually begins in the winter months and peaks in January or February.
It’s not too late to get a flu shot if you haven’t already.  While it could take two weeks before you’re immune, taking some precautions to avoid germs can help in the mean time.  

Actions to take
While we typically warn people to wash their hands and not touch their eyes, nose or face, there are other common ways germs can be spread,” Aikings said.  “Putting a telephone receiver to your ear, opening a door, pushing a grocery cart are all ways we can transfer germs to ourselves.  While we may have just washed our hands, we don’t know about the person that used these items before we did.”   
Wiping down these with an antibacterial wipe can help.  While it won’t kill a virus, physically removing the contagions is an effective way of avoiding germs.
People shouldn’t take lightly the importance of rest when recovering from the flu, or any other illness for that matter, Aikings said.  It’s not uncommon for parents at the Health Department to have both sick and well kids in their charge.  If a visit can be avoided in favor of staying home and resting, do it.  
“Even if you are coming in to get a child vaccinated, a few days won’t hurt anything,” she said.  “Once you and your children are well, we can get them right back on schedule.”
That goes for adults too, she said.  Don’t rush back to work until you’re really well.  

What’s different
The only atypical thing seen this year is that the most common strain has been H1N1, which became known as swine flu during a 2009 outbreak.
“It’s the same virus that we saw in 2009 that caused the pandemic,” Jhung said. At the time, it was called swine flu since it was seen for the first time in humans.
But since then, “it’s established itself very nicely in the human population,” Jhung said. “We’ve seen it every season since 2009 in people.” The virus is no longer referred to as swine flu, but instead as a human seasonal virus.
The strain is so common that it was included in this year’s vaccination, he said.
Last year nationally, 381,000 people were hospitalized and 171 children died in what’s being called a relatively severe season.However, the CDC estimates that flu vaccination prevented 6.6 million illnesses last year, 3.2 million doctor visits and at least 79,000 hospitalizations.

(Take the Flu I.Q. quiz at the website for the Centers for Disease Control.)