151 the centers for disease control and prevention cdc believes the nation is at peak flu season as the disease is now considered to be an epidemic based on its medical impact the federal agency said today the rate of hospitalizations for pneumonia and the flu is continuing to climb amid a cdc warning of several more weeks of significant flu activity its a busy flu season this year dr jesse jacob associate professor of medicine at emory university school of medicine told abc news today were seeing a lot of patients with the flu compared to last year jacob said weve tested nearly twice as many patients as we have the year before and were seeing about four times as much flu what were seeing this year the influenza season started earlier and seems to be peaking right about now dr daniel b jernigan director of the influenza division in the national center for immunization and respiratory diseases ncird at the cdc told gma wednesday thats about a month earlier than it normally would be peaking he said so lots of cases are happening in lots of states all at the same time a pack of tissue and a mug are pictured in this undated stock photo stock photogetty images why this years flu season is so bad and what you can do about it cdc official on why the flu is nearepidemic peaking early this year multiple tennessee school districts closed due to widespread flu there were seven pediatric flu deaths last week bringing the total to 20 for the flu season that started oct 1 the cdc said trips to the doctor for flulike illnesses might be starting to stabilize 26 states were reporting highlevels of outpatient visits the same as the prior week high flu activity has been reported in new york city as well as alabama arizona arkansas california colorado georgia illinois indiana kansas kentucky louisiana mississippi missouri nebraska nevada new jersey new mexico ohio oklahoma oregon south carolina texas virginia washington west virginia and wyoming the cdc said outbreaks of the flu have closed some schools in states including alabama idaho north carolina tennessee and texas antiviral drugs are also approved and recommended for treatment if taken within 48 hours of the beginning of symptoms they can prevent serious complications from the flu the cdc said particularly for people in the highest risk groups children younger than 5 and adults older than 65 influenza h3n2 has been the most common strain in this cycle which is usually more severe the cdc said whenever h3n2 shows up it causes lots of disease lots of hospitalizations lots of cases and lots of deaths jernigan said over the past couple of years h3n2 had not been as prevalent we know that the influenza vaccine is the best way to prevent but in this season it is not as effective as it is for the other viruses that circulate jernigan said a person receives the flu