Seasonal flu toll rises to 15

Activity ‘minimal’ in Arkansas and rest of U.S.

Another person has died from flu in Arkansas, bringing this season’s death toll to 15, according to a weekly report from the state’s Department of Health.

Just one of 404 people who died in Arkansas during the week that ended Feb. 20 had a positive flu test. By comparison, 67 people died of pneumonia, likely due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Six people were hospitalized with a positive flu test last week, health officials said in the report. Cumulatively, 170 people have been admitted to Arkansas hospitals with flu since late September.

Overall, the state’s flu activity remains “minimal,” according to the report. The level of “influenza-like illness” is at the lowest of 13 levels, where it has remained throughout much of the season.

No nursing homes have reported flu outbreaks. That’s different from the 2019-2020 flu season, when 10 facilities reported outbreaks to the state.

Health providers reported 1,733 positive flu tests — likely just a fraction of the total flu burden, as most cases aren’t treated in hospitals or otherwise tracked, the report said.

Of the people who died from flu this season in Arkansas, 12 were 65 or older. One person was between the ages of 45 and 64, and two were 25-44, Health Department data show.

Flu levels were “minimal” in every state last week, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website. The nation’s hospitalization rates from flu are historically low, and only one child in the U.S. has died from flu since September, the CDC said.

Public health experts say elderly people, children, people with compromised immune systems and people who are pregnant are most at risk of serious outcomes if they catch the flu, although anyone can get very sick.