How bad will the flu be? Here's what to know after last year's record-breaking season

After a rough, record-setting flu season, doctors and health officials are bracing for another wave of fever, misery and respiratory distress.

After a rough, record-setting flu season, doctors and health officials are bracing for another wave of fever, misery and respiratory distress.

In the U.K., health officials are warning about an early rise in flu levels among children and young adults. In Japan, health officials recently declared a flu epidemic and closed schools after experiencing an unusually high number of flu cases early in the season.

What does that mean for the U.S.?

Typically, flu cases start to rise in November, along with RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) and enteroviruses, and peak in February. But job-cut chaos at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the government shutdown could make it hard to know how the virus is playing out this fall, experts worry.

The CDC’s last influenza report for the U.S. was for the week ending Sept. 20, when there was minimal activity.