CAMDEN — During the flu season the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) produces a Weekly Influenza Report for clinicians. To date, 106 influenza-related deaths have been reported in Arkansas this flu season, including two pediatric deaths; 71% of the adults were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccine history. CDC has reported a total of 86 pediatric deaths nationwide this season, with two reported in Arkansas.
Report Key Points:
• Ouachita County schools reported a 5.9 absenteeism rate. The average school absenteeism rate last week was 5.6 percent among public schools. As of April 16, ADH is aware that 28 schools closed briefly due to the flu this season.
• For Week 15, Arkansas reported “Local” activity to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for geographic spread of influenza, and “Minimal” or 2/10 for ILI intensity.
• Since September 30, 2018, over 32,400 positive influenza tests have been reported to the ADH online database by health care providers. In Week 15, 42 counties reported influenza cases. The majority of reports came from Pulaski, Crittenden, White, Craighead, Garland, Independence, and Johnson.
• Among flu antigen tests that can distinguish between influenza A and B virus types, 93 percent were influenza A, and 7 percent were influenza B.
• There are 21 positive PCR flu tests this week from private labs: 19 tested positive for influenza A, 2 tested positive for influenza B. At the ADH lab, 1 tested positive for influenza A subtype H1N1, and 1 tested positive for influenza A subtype H3N2, and no samples tested negative for influenza this week.
• About 1.6 percent of patients visiting emergency rooms this week were there for ILI. About 2.2 percent of outpatient visits were for ILI.
• Since September 30, 2018, 12 nursing homes in Arkansas have reported influenza outbreaks.
• The proportion of deaths reported to the National Center for Health Statistics attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) was below the system-specific epidemic threshold.
• For Week 14, the geographic spread of influenza was reported as widespread in 20 states; Puerto Rico and 25 states reported regional activities; the District of Columbia and 5 states reported local activities; the U.S. Virgin Islands reported sporadic activities; Guam did not report.
• You can report flu year-round and view the weekly influenza report during the influenza season at: http://www.healthy.arkansas.gov/programs-services/topics/influenza.
You can also access the reporting website directly at: https://FluReport.ADH.Arkansas.gov.