We’re seeing an uptick in flu cases in Mississippi. After trending behind 2024’s numbers for most of the fall, now that winter’s here, we’ve caught up. Our statewide flu rate has jumped to 3.9 per cent for the week ending December 20th and that’s almost the same as it was this time last year. Doctors who report to the State Health Department treated fewer patients than the week before but had more with flu-like symptoms, a total of 570 suspected flu cases. And in a week’s time, the CDC has raised our level of flu activity from minimal to moderate which is still one of the lowest in the nation. By comparison, flu activity in Alabama is classified as high and in Louisiana, Tennessee and Arkansas it’s very high.
Locally, in the public health district which includes Attala, Holmes, Carroll and Montgomery counties, the flu rate has dropped from about 12 and a half per cent to around 11 per cent, still the highest in the state. But in two other local areas, we’ve seen increases in the flu rate—now over 7 per cent in the district which includes Winston and Choctaw counties and up to 3 and a half per cent in the district which includes Leake and Neshoba counties.
