Flu kills seven in US state

/influenza-virus.Washington, Jan 9 : Influenza has claimed the lives of seven people in the US state of Arkansas this season, health authorities said.

Experts from the Arkansas Department of Health said they expect about 1.5 million people to get vaccinated against the flu, Xinhua reported.

This is the worst influenza occurrence in Arkansas since 2009, officials said.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned that influenza activity would soon increase across most parts of the US.

Each year, more than 200,000 people are hospitalised for influenza, the CDC said.

The agency's recent weekly influenza report said 29 states reported high occurrences of flu, and 18 children have died due to the disease across the country. (IANS)