Influenza Activity in Shelby County | Shelby County Health Dept., TN – Shelby County Health Department

The data shared here is Emergency Department visits, outpatient visits and the number of positive flu tests from local providers.

Influenza like illness (ILI) is defined as: Fever >100 plus cough and/or sore throat, in the absence of a known cause.

Classification of ILI is based upon symptoms only and does not require testing.

Influenza is not a reportable condition, so any data collected is voluntarily provided by community members.

Not all Emergency Department (ED) visits published here are diagnosed as influenza; some are discharged with a diagnosis of rhinovirus, bronchitis, or other upper respiratory infection. This data is considered preliminary and are not confirmed diagnoses of the disease.

The ED data is retrieved from the Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Community-based Epidemics (ESSENCE-NSSP). Currently, 11 out of the 12 ED's in Shelby County submit data to ESSENCE-NSSP. Off-season ILI is included for baseline comparison.

Outpatient visit data is collected by the CDC's Sentinel Provider Network and reported to Tennessee Department of Health weekly.

Some local providers also voluntarily report the number of positive flu tests. This data is presented in a graph above.

For information about infection prevention, national activity or detailed information about the influenza virus, please visit the CDC Influenza page (link below).

For information about influenza activity in Tennessee please visit the TN Department of Health web page (link below).

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Influenza Activity in Shelby County | Shelby County Health Dept., TN - Shelby County Health Department