Although the second wave of A/H1N1 flu pandemic has peaked, visits to doctors for influenza-like illness (ILI) in the United States in the week ending Saturday remained above the national baseline, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday.

"Nationwide during week 52, 2.4 percent of patient visits reported through the U.S. Outpatient Influenza-like Illness Surveillance Network (ILINet) were due to ILI. This percentage is above the national baseline of 2.3 percent," the CDC said on its website.

Since last October, when the A/H1N1 pandemic peaked, most key indicators of the new virus have been declining week by week, but visits to doctors have never been below the national baseline.

The CDC said that one possible reason for the big number of ILIvisits in the past two weeks is a reduction in routine health care visits during the holiday season.

On the whole, the CDC said on Friday that the A/H1N1 flu infections continue to be on the wane nationally. The latest report shows that only one U.S. state, Alabama, is now reporting widespread flu activity, down from four in the previous week.

Meanwhile, the supply of A/H1N1 vaccines continues to grow. There are now at least 136 million doses of vaccine available to order for the states.

Health officials on Thursday called on the average American to seize this opportunity and get vaccinated. "The illness is down. There"e;s plenty of vaccine. It"e;s a key window of opportunity," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC"e;s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

The first wave of the A/H1N1 pandemic began in April last year, when the strain was discovered. A larger wave started in late summer. Though the second wave has peaked, health experts stressed that it"e;s too soon to say it"e;s over.

Source: Xinhua