By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer

WASHINGTON  — Flu is rising rapidly across the U.S., driven by a new variant of the virus — and cases are expected to keep growing with holiday travel.

That variant, known as “subclade K,” led to early outbreaks in the United Kingdom, Japan and Canada. In the U.S., flu typically begins its winter march in December. On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported high or very high levels of illness in more than half the states.

The CDC estimated there have been at least 7.5 million illnesses, 81,000 hospitalizations and 3,100 deaths from flu so far this season. That includes at least eight child deaths — and is based on data as of Dec. 20, before major holiday gatherings.

Some states are particularly hard-hit. New York’s health department said the week ending Dec. 20 marked the most flu cases the state had recorded in a single week since 2004: 71,000.

It’s far too soon to know if this flu season will be as severe as last winter’s.

But it’s not too late to get a flu shot, which health experts say can still prevent severe illness even if someone gets infected. While this year’s vaccine isn’t a perfect match to the subclade K strain, a preliminary analysis from the U.K. found it offered at least partial protection, lowering people’s risk of hospitalization.

According to the CDC, only about 42% of adults and children have gotten a flu vaccination so far this year.

What is subclade K flu?

The flu virus is a shape-shifter, constantly mutating, and it comes in multiple forms. There are two subtypes of Type A flu, and subclade K is a mutated version of one of them, named H3N2. That H3N2 strain is always harsh, especially for older adults.

Subclade K’s mutations aren’t enough of a change to be considered an entirely new kind of flu.

But they’re different enough to evade some of the protection from this year’s vaccine, said Andrew Pekosz, a virus expert at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Will subclade K make people sicker?

The CDC said it’s too soon to know how severe this season will be.

Flu seasons dominated by any version of H3N2 tend to be bad, with more infections overall and more people becoming seriously ill. But Hopkins’ Pekosz cautioned it will take time to tease apart whether this subclade K version simply spreads more easily or also is more dangerous.

That question aside, the CDC notes there are some prescription medicines to treat flu — usually recommended for people at high risk of complications. But they generally need to be started a day or two after symptoms begin.

Who needs a flu vaccine?

The CDC and major medical societies all recommend a flu vaccine for just about everyone age 6 months and older. Despite lots of recent misinformation and confusion about vaccines, the flu recommendations haven’t changed.

Flu is particularly dangerous for people 65 and older, pregnant women, young children and people of any age who have chronic health problems, including asthma, diabetes, heart disease and weak immune systems.

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The vaccines are brewed to protect against three influenza strains. Despite concern over that new H3N2 variant, they appear to be a good match against H1N1 and Type B flu that may also circulate this year, Pekosz said.

There are shots for all ages, as well as the nasal spray FluMist for ages 2 to 49. For the first time this year, some people may be eligible to vaccinate themselves with FluMist at home.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS, Associated Press

LARNACA, Cyprus (AP) — Photis Gaitanos’ rough fingers adroitly untangle the venomous spikes of a lionfish from a net, throwing the exotic-looking creature into an ice-filled rubber bin along with other fish from the day’s catch.

Unlike a few years ago when he would have mostly caught local staples as sea bream, red mullet or bass, the veteran fisherman now hunts for the invasive species that made its way from the Red Sea to the warming waters of the Mediterranean,

Lionfish, with their red and orange-hued stripes and antennae-like barbs that menacingly ward off enemies, threaten to decimate indigenous fish stocks, wreaking havoc on the livelihoods of the roughly 150 professional fishermen in Cyprus.

A lionfish is seen on a fishing boat off the coast of Larnaca, Cyprus, in the eastern Mediterranean, early Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

The prickly fish has even made its way as far north as the Ionian Sea, where Italian authorities have asked the public to photograph and report sightings.

The East Mediterranean has also seen another invasive Red Sea fish in the last decade: the silver-cheeked toadfish. Known as an eating machine whose powerful jaws cut through fishing nets, decimating fishermen’s catch, it has no natural predators off Cyprus, allowing its population to explode.

That toadfish also produces a lethal toxin, making it inedible.

Warmer waters are the culprit

Gaitanos, the 60-year-old fisherman, has fished for years in an area a few kilometers off the coastal town of Larnaca, once famous for its fishing bounty. Now, he says, it’s been more than two years since he’s caught a red mullet, a consumer favorite.

Fisherman Photis Gaitanos collects fish from nets off the coast of Larnaca, Cyprus, in the eastern Mediterranean, early Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

“I have been practicing this profession for 40 years. Our income, especially since these two foreign species appeared, has become worse every year. It is now a major problem (affecting) the future of fishing,” he said. “How can it be dealt with?”

Europe’s General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean says with the sea warming some 20% faster than the global average, the presence of invasive species “is progressively increasing in the western basin.”

Models show that warmer seas as a result of climate change could see lionfish swarm the entire Mediterranean by the century’s end. Warmer waters and an expanded Suez Canal “have opened the floodgates” to Indo-Pacific species in general, according to Cyprus’ Fisheries Department.

The European Union’s Fisheries Commissioner Costas Kadis, a Cypriot himself, told The Associated Press that more frequent and intense extreme weather, often linked to climate change, could make the Mediterranean more hospitable to invasive species.

And that’s taking a heavy toll on Europe’s fishing industry as fishermen’s catches diminish while their costs shoot up as a result of repairs to fishing gear damaged by the powerful intruders.

“The native marine biodiversity of a specific region, as in the case of Cyprus, faces heightened competition and pressure, with implications for local ecosystems and industries dependent on them,” said Kadis.

Fishermen cry for help

Gaitanos, who inherited his father’s boat in 1986, is not sure the fishermen’s grievances are being handled in a way that can stave off the profession’s decline.

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“We want to show the European Union that there’s a big problem with the quantity of the catch as well as the kind of fish caught, affected by the arrival of these invasive species and by climate change,” he said.

Some EU-funded compensation programs have been enacted to help fishermen. The latest, enforced last year, pays fishermen about $5.5 per 2.2 pounds to catch toadfish to control their number. The toadfish are then sent to incinerators.

Another project, RELIONMED, which began in 2017, recruits some 100 scuba divers to cull lionfish around wrecks, reefs and marine protected areas. The Cyprus Fisheries Department says surveys show that frequent culls could buy time for native species to recover, but it’s not a permanent fix.

Some try eating the problem

What local fishermen are hoping will catch on with the fish-loving public is a new campaign to serve lionfish as a delicacy after its poisonous spines are carefully removed.

Kadis, the EU Fisheries commissioner, said a social media campaign that began in 2021, #TasteTheOcean, had top European chefs and influencers plugging invasive species as a tasty alternative to the more commonly consumed fish. Renowned Cypriot chef Stavris Georgiou worked up a lionfish recipe of his own.

Stefanos Mentonis, owner of Stefanos restaurant, cooks lionfish in Larnaca, Cyprus, in the eastern Mediterranean, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

For most Cypriots, local taverns with their rich meze menus that feature numerous plates different fish is the way to go. Although eating lionfish has been slow to catch on, many tavernas and fish restaurants have started to introduce it as part of their menu.

The bonus is that lionfish is now priced competitively compared to more popular fish like sea bass. At the Larnaca harbor fish market, lionfish cost less than half as much as more popular fish like sea bass.

“By incorporating invasive species such as lionfish into our diet, we can turn this challenge into an opportunity for the fisheries sector and at the same time help limit the environmental threat caused by these species,” Kadis said

Stephanos Mentonis, who runs a popular fish tavern in Larnaca, has included lionfish on his meze menu as a way to introduce the fish to a wider number of patrons.

Mentonis, 54, says most of his customers aren’t familiar with lionfish. But its meat is fluffy and tender, and he says it can hold up against perennial tavern favorites like sea bream.

“When they try it, it’s not any less tasty than any other fish,” he said.

Associated Press writer Colleen Barry in Milan contributed to this report.

By JESSICA DAMIANO, Associated Press

What to buy, what to serve, which events to attend — December is typically full of decisions. Here’s one more for you to contemplate: What are you going to do with your Christmas tree?

According to the Nature Conservancy, some 10 million live Christmas trees end up in landfills every year. There, they are covered with soil, which results in anaerobic (oxygen-deprived) decomposition rather than the aerobic (oxygen-fueled) process by which they would break down in a natural setting, such as on the forest floor.

Anaerobic decomposition is not only very slow (a tree can take years to break down) but it also generates greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide, which may contaminate groundwater.

If you’d like to avoid this, you have options that not only will avoid harming the environment but may also help improve your garden, and all of them begin with removing ornaments, tinsel or “flocking” (spray-on fake “snow”) from the tree.

This Dec. 29, 2018, image provided by Jessica Damiano shows John Damiano removing Christmas tree branches indoors for use as a winter mulch in the garden on Long Island, N.Y. (Jessica Damiano via AP)

Firewood and mulch

At the end of every holiday season, my late husband, John, used to remove our Christmas trees’ branches — one by one — using garden pruners right in the living room. As he cut each branch, he would drop it into a large trash bag at his feet.

When the bag was full, I would take it outdoors and distribute the branches throughout the garden to insulate the soil and protect bulbs and perennial root crowns from heaving out of the ground during the freeze-thaw cycles of winter.

Meanwhile, John would get to work sawing the trunk into segments, then would bring them outdoors, where they would cure over winter. After six months of drying, we’d burn the dried wood in our fire pit. Ashes to ashes, as they say.

In spring, I would revisit my garden mulch and cut the brittle branches and stems into smaller pieces, leaving them in place to further decompose without interfering with the emerging springtime garden. Pine needles don’t significantly lower soil pH, despite what you might have heard, so they will not imperil your plants.

The practice not only provides free winter mulch and firewood, but also allows you to remove the tree from the house without leaving a trail of needles from the living room to the door. Win-win!

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Wildlife havens

If you have a large pond, consider sinking your tree to create shelter for fish. They’ll appreciate their new hiding place.

Or leave the tree in its stand and set it out in the yard. Secure it, if necessary, to avoid tipping in strong winter winds. Then watch as nonmigratory birds make a home in it. A bird feeder hanging from a branch will help entice new residents even more.

If that’s not possible, just drag the whole thing outside and lay it down in an out-of-the-way corner of the yard to provide shelter for birds and other wildlife.

Local programs

Some communities hold special tree collections after the holidays and use them to fortify sand dunes, counter erosion or provide shelter for wildlife. Some municipalities chip collected trees and then supply the resulting mulch free of charge to homeowners.

To find programs in your town, county, or state, call your local offices or search online.

You might even donate your tree to a local farm; many will welcome your contribution to their livestock’s food supply.

Jessica Damiano writes weekly gardening columns for the AP and publishes the award-winning Weekly Dirt Newsletter. You can sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice.