A second flu death in Arkansas this season is being reported by the Arkansas Department of Health.
The death was noted Tuesday in the release of the weekly flu report for the week that ended November 2nd. The first death of this flu season had been reported just last week.
Other key points in the report:
• For Week 44, Arkansas reported “Sporadic” activity to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for geographic spread of influenza, and “Low” or 5 out of 10 for ILI intensity.
• Since September 29, 2019, 673 positive influenza tests have been reported to the ADH online database by health care providers, with over 130 positive tests reported this week. Please note that reported cases reflect only a portion of the actual numbers of flu cases in the state.
• Among flu antigen tests that can distinguish between influenza A and B virus types, 72 percent were influenza A, and 28 percent were influenza B.
• There were 18 positive PCR flu tests from private labs this week: 4 tested positive for influenza A, 8 tested positive for influenza B, and 6 tested positive for both A and B. At the ADH lab, 1 sample tested negative for influenza this week.
• About 2.3 percent of patients visiting emergency rooms were there for ILI this week. About 2.9 percent of outpatient visits were for ILI.
