Pittsburgh, PA, February 15, 2018 – With the flu continuing to remain strong nationally, Doctors Report™ Illness Tracker™ and DoctorsReport.com, the new mobile app and website that give you instant access to data doctors’ reports from almost one million doctors’ offices across the nation, has expanded and released its current list of the nation’s top Influenza hot spots (by metro area) in the nation.
According to the Doctors Report Illness Tracker, the severity level of the flu nationally is 9.5 on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being most severe) for the third consecutive week.
Equal severity levels among numerous metros where the flu is strongest have not made it possible to provide simple numerical rankings at this time. DoctorsReport.com is listing 27 metros according to severity level (High to Serious) with no attempt to assign each a numerical ranking.
The Doctors Report Illness Tracker™ draws from a national database of doctor-diagnosed and reported cases over a period of the past seven days. Specific metros are listed according to the Doctors Report illness severity scale, with 10 being most severe and 0 being least severe:
Very High
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH at 9.5.
- Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC at 9.5.
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD at 9.5.
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV at 9.5.
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL at 9.5.
- Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI at 9.5.
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL at 9.5.
- Jacksonville, FL at 9.5.
- Richmond, VA at 9.5.
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY at 9.5.
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA at 9.0.
- Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD at 9.0.
- Cleveland-Elyria, OH at 9.0.
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA at 8.5.
- Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN at 8.5.
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL at 8.5.
High
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX at 7.5.
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI at 7.0.
- Pittsburgh, PA at 7.0.
- Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN at 6.5.
- Columbus, OH at 6.5.
- Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI at 6.5.
- Austin-Round Rock, TX at 6.5.
Serious
- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI at 6.0.
- Birmingham-Hoover, AL at 6.0.
- Raleigh, NC at 6.0.
- Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN at 6.0
The current severity rankings for Flu A, a different category of influenza, which can be severe are:
Very High
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL at 9.5.
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL at 9.0.
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA at 8.5.
High
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL at 8.0.
- Raleigh, NC at 8.0.
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI at 7.0.
- Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI at 7.0.
- Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN at 7.0.
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA at 6.5.
Serious
- Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD at 6.0.
- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, at 6.0.
- Providence-Warwick, RI-MA at 6.0.
- Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC at 5.5.
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH at 5.5.
- Birmingham-Hoover, AL at 5.0.
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV at 5.0.
- Oklahoma City, OK at 5.0.
Influenza (“flu”) is a respiratory illness caused by viruses infecting the nose, throat and lungs. The flu can be severe and, especially for the young and very weak, be life threatening. Flu-related illnesses that can result include pneumonia, asthma and dehydration.
Please note – the Influenza A virus also may be serious, especially for infants, elderly and immune compromised people. The Doctors Report™ Illness Tracker™ provides a separate report on outbreaks of Influenza A virus in your area or other areas you search.
About the Doctors Report Severity Scale
DoctorsReport.com has developed a proprietary set of algorithms for gauging the severity of 15 common illnesses. The major factors that define the severity scale are: number of diagnosed and reported cases from actual doctors’ offices and comparisons to historical trends for the same area.
About the Doctors Report Website and App
Doctors Report is a new website and app, powered by data from almost one million doctors’ offices nationwide. The data from doctors’ offices is cycled automatically so that it is as fresh as seven days old or fewer. Doctors Report tracks 15 major disease and condition categories. Additional health risk categories will be added. The geographic accuracy of the data can be narrowed to zip code and broken down by health condition and age group. For more information on the website and app, and to download it, visit http://OBrienCommunications.pr-optout.com/Tracking.aspx?Data=HHL%3d%3d471%3d%26JDG%3c%3b4%3e.67%3b%26SDG%3c90%3a.&RE=MC&RI=1182836&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=12401&Action=Follow+Link.
