An additional 16 flu-related deaths were reported to the state last week, raising the total death toll from the current flu season to 28, the Arkansas Department of Health reported.
State epidemiologist Dirk Haselow said the season, which started earlier than usual, appears to be on track to be the worst in the state since at least 2014-15.
During that season, 110 people died, making it the state's most severe flu season in decades.
As it was in the 2014-15 season, the predominant strain so far this season is H3N2. And, as in the 2014-15 season, information from health care providers indicates that the vaccine is not very effective against that strain.
"We're having some early suspicion that it might be a repeat," Haselow said.
As of Saturday, 14,000 positive flu tests had been reported to the Health Department, up from 7,000 as of Dec. 16.
But because not all health care providers report flu cases, the actual number is probably about 10 times higher than that, Haselow said.
During a bad year, he said, about a third of people in the United States get exposed to the flu, meaning the number in Arkansas could reach about 1 million.
The flu-related deaths last week include the first one this season of a person age 45-64, according to the Health Department's weekly flu report. The other deaths have all been of people age 65 or older.
The number of deaths is unusual because most usually come at the end of the flu season, Haselow said.
Information from health care providers hasn't indicated that the spread of the virus is slowing down, he said.
"We don't know yet if we've hit the peak," Haselow said.
Symptoms of the flu include an abrupt headache, fever, body aches and a cough, Haselow said. Children also may have nausea and diarrhea.
Haselow said it's not too late to get the vaccine, which typically becomes fully effective in 10 to 14 days.
Even if it proves ineffective against H3N2, the vaccine might offer better protection against other strains that also are circulating, he said.
The vaccine could also make the illness caused by the H3N2 strain less severe, he said.
"It may just keep you out of the hospital," he said.
Metro on 01/04/2018