Flu Trend Question
What Does Decreasing Flu Activity Mean?
It means the flu-like-illness signal is moving down, not that flu is over. The useful read is level plus direction: national flu is low and similar to 1.7% last week, while some states can still be hotter than the national line.
15-second answer
- Decreasing is a direction label. It says the signal is lower than the comparison period, not that flu has disappeared.
- The current national CDC ILINet signal is low at 1.6% of outpatient visits for flu-like illness, similar to 1.7% last week.
- A state can be decreasing and still have meaningful flu activity if it is coming down from a high season peak.
- For a practical answer, read the current level, the week ending date, the season context, and the state page together.
Why this matters 1
People often read "decreasing" as "not a problem anymore." That can be misleading when the current level is still moderate or high.
Why this matters 2
This page supports the flu state pages by explaining how to combine intensity, direction, and season context before deciding which local page to send or check next.
Best Next Clicks
What to open next
Open the national flu tracker
Best next click if you want the full state-by-state map and current national trend.
Open the California flu page
Best next click if you want to see a current high-activity state example.
Open the local flu question page
Best next click if your real question is whether flu still feels active near you.
Open the hottest-flu-states ranking
Best next click if you want to compare states instead of interpreting one trend label.
Source and context
How this answer is built
Source
Updated
Week ending May 23
Coverage
National and state flu-like illness surveillance
Best For
Interpreting flu trend labels on state and national pages
This page should stay focused on interpretation. It should not turn a decreasing trend into medical advice or imply that every city has city-specific flu surveillance.
FAQ
Quick questions about this answer
Does decreasing flu activity mean flu is gone?
No. It only means the surveillance signal is moving down. The current level can still be moderate or high, especially when activity is falling from a winter peak.
Why does Local Health Signal show both level and trend?
Because either one alone can mislead. Level tells you how much flu-like illness is being reported now, while trend tells you whether that signal is rising, stable, or easing.
This week
The sendable weekly version
What's Going Around Right Now? Early April 2026 Weekly Update
If you want the broad current snapshot first and then the best local or topic click, the weekly roundup is still the strongest sendable page on the site.
Flu
1.6% and stable
RSV
2.0 per 100K and stable
COVID-19
1.2 per 100K and decreasing
Measles
812 cases in 37 states
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