A mutated virus is driving the US into an early flu season, especially on the West Coast

Flu season is picking up months ahead of schedule with a mutated virus spreading in some parts of the United States, surprising some people who might not even be thinking about their annual flu shots yet. This year, the season started 2 1/2 months earlier than what’s typical and hit states on the West Coast first, which is unusual, said Dr. Alex Greninger, head of the Division of Infectious Disease Diagnostics at the University of Washington’s Department of Laboratory Medicine. Usually, the US flu season starts in the South – often in Florida, where it arrives from the Southern Hemisphere. Then it tends to spread north as fall and winter progress. “In Seattle, we’re pretty far north. We see a pretty strong peak in January,” Greninger said, noting that the bulk of their cases typically come in late December through February. That’s not how it’s playing out this year.