The first flu death of the season in Arkansas was reported Wednesday, a spokesman for the state Department of Health said.
The person who died wasn't vaccinated and was between the ages of 45 and 64, according to Meg Mirivel. Mirivel said she did not know the date of the person's death and did not release information about where the person lived.
During the previous flu season, the state had a total of 227 deaths attributed to the illness, the most on record for the past three decades. Most of the people who died were 65 or older.
Mirivel said it isn't "unheard of" for people in the younger age ranges to die of the flu.
She said it was "hard to know ahead of time" how the coming season will compare, noting that the agency has seen more flu circulating this season than it did at the same time last year.
NW News on 10/18/2018