The weekly flu report from the Arkansas Department of Health dropped Thursday morning, and flu spread remained “very high” for the third consecutive week.
This trend is similar to an average flu season. If we stay on this pattern, an end to the peaking illness reports could come soon.
The disease report runs a week behind, so the information released on Thursday details illnesses through Feb. 17. Since Oct. 1, the health department has reported 55 flu-related deaths, most of which are Arkansans ages 65 and older.
Thirteen deaths were reported among people aged 45-64, four were in the 25-44 age group and two were for people aged 18-24. No child deaths have been reported this flu season, according to the ADH.
Of the 55 total deaths, 73% of people were unvaccinated.
Compared to data from the last 10 years, the current tally of flu deaths falls somewhere in the middle. Last flu season, the health department reported 160 deaths. The deadliest flu season in the last 10 years was 2017 with 228 reported deaths, and the mildest was 2015 with 15 deaths.
