Arkansas' flu season is picking up early, with two more deaths recorded in the past week, the state Department of Health reported Tuesday.
The latest deaths raised the state's death toll from the current flu season to six. That's twice the number of people who had died at the same point in the season last year. That season resulted in 120 deaths by the time it ended this spring.
This season is also unusual because influenza B is more common than A, said Jennifer Dillaha, the Health Department's medical director for immunizations and outbreak response.
Influenza B is typically more common in children than adults and peaks in transmission later in the flu season than influenza A.
Among those who have died, four were infected with type-B influenza, Dillaha said.
"We do see older adults succumb to type B and very young children," she said.
Fortunately, she said, both the normal flu vaccine and the ones designed for older people protect against the most common strain of type B in circulation.
People who haven't gotten flu shots yet should get them, she said. Even in instances when it doesn't prevent the flu, the vaccine can reduce the severity and shorten the duration of illness among those who get the flu, she said.
"We would not want the flu to ruin somebody's holiday season," she said.
Often, people who die from the flu have other health conditions that weaken their immune systems or are exacerbated by the flu, she said.
Of those who have died from the flu so far this season, half were age 45-64 and the others were 65 or older. More than half had been vaccinated against the flu, Dillaha said.
The flu season generally runs from October through May.
Last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that flu activity was elevated in the southern and western parts of the country but was still low elsewhere.
Arkansas was among seven states that reported "moderate" activity based on the number of people visiting the doctor with flu-like illness.
Seven other states reported a higher level of activity, with the remaining states reporting "low" or "minimal" activity.
Dillaha noted that the geographic spread of the flu was listed as "local" in Arkansas but "widespread" in three bordering states: Texas, Louisiana and Tennessee.
She said it likely "won't be long" before the flu is widespread in Arkansas, as well.
Metro on 12/04/2019