Fourth person dies of flu in state

A fourth person has died of flu-related illness in Arkansas, a state Department of Health spokesman said Tuesday.

The death, reported last week, was of a person aged 45-64, spokesman Meg Mirivel said.

Of the other deaths during the current season, two were reported in October and were also of people age 45-64. The third death, reported last month, was of a person age 65 or older.

All the deaths so far have been in the southwest part of the state, Mirivel said.

The state’s first three deaths were of people who hadn’t been vaccinated against the flu, Mirivel said. She said the department doesn’t know whether the person whose death was reported last week was vaccinated.

At the same point during the last flu season, the state had recorded seven deaths. By the end of that season, 227 people died, making it the state’s deadliest in decades. The flu season generally runs from October through May.

Based on clinics’ reports of patients with flu-like symptoms, the intensity of activity in the state was listed in a Health Department report as “minimal” during the week that ended Saturday, and the geographic spread was listed as “sporadic.”

By comparison, during the week that ended Dec. 9, 2017, the level of activity was listed as “moderate” and the geographic spread as “widespread.”

During the week that ended Dec. 1, Arkansas was among 38 states that reported having minimal flu activity, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.