Six weeks into the flu season, the Arkansas Department of Health’s weekly report shows Baxter County’s public school absenteeism rate at 5.48%, just a tick above the state average of 5.3%. However, neighboring Searcy County has one of the state’s highest at 7.14%.
Elsewhere in North Central Arkansas, Newton County’s school absenteeism rate stood at 6.3% for the week ending Nov. 9, followed by Izard County at 6.09%, Marion County at 5.9%, Fulton at 5.23% and Stone at 4.55%.
The state’s highest school absenteeism rate was in Phillips County at 11.76%.
Across Arkansas, the health department continues to report “sporadic” activity to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
During the flu season the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) produces a Weekly Influenza Report for clinicians. The report provides information on flu activity in the state. The report also compares influenza-like-illness (ILI) in Arkansas to activity in the U.S. ADH receives reports of only a fraction of flu cases, since it only requires reports of hospitalizations, deaths and outbreaks.
Therefore, it is important to understand the information in the weekly update is representative of the timing and location of activity, but it does not reflect the overall burden of disease. It is presumed there are many more people actually affected than the report shows.
Since Sept. 29, 930 positive influenza tests have been reported to the ADH online database by health care providers, with over 180 positive tests reported this past week. 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, 71 percent were influenza A, and 29 percent were influenza B.
To date, three influenza-related deaths have been reported in Arkansas this flu season. CDC has reported a total of two pediatric deaths nationwide this season.
To date, no nursing homes in Arkansas have reported influenza outbreaks.
To view the full report, click here.
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