Flu cases rising in San Diego amid super flu surge

Driving the news: Cases of the flu remain elevated nationwide, according to data from the CDC, and it's raging from coast to coast.

• New CDC data shows that there's been at least 7.5 million illnesses, 81,000 hospitalizations and 3,100 deaths from the flu so far this season.
• Many of these cases have been tied to "subclade K" — a variant of the H3N2 virus, which is a subtype of influenza A.

Experts and patients say subclade K is an example of the "super flu," referring to a strain that spreads quickly and rapidly, becoming more troublesome.

Zoom in: Flu cases and hospitalizations in San Diego County and across California are rising, but locally the numbers haven't yet hit the high levels of previous years.

• In December, county health officials warned of low vaccination rates and said this could be one of the worst flu seasons in recent memory, ABC10 reported.

• That's significant considering last year was one of the most severe in a decade, as 220 county residents, including seven children, died from the flu.

The bottom line: Get a flu shot if you haven't because peak flu season isn't over.

Go deeper: What to know about the "super flu" surge.