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ATLANTA – The flu season is officially underway and Channel 2 Action News learned Georgia is already leading the nation's cases.
The CDC collects data from across the country from the first week of October through May. They list the proportion of doctor visits where people have a flu-like illness on a scale of 1 to 10.
A map of the CDC shows that Georgia is at level three, in the minimum range, as in the whole country. But the state tops the first flu report for the season.
Last year, the flu killed 151 people in Georgia, including four children.
"We have seen a lot of patients arrive at the hospital, but we have seen a lot of deaths related to the flu last year," said Dr. Marshall Lyon, an infectious disease specialist.
The first flu deaths of the season have already been reported: an elderly person in North Carolina and a child in Florida.
Young and older are the most exposed.
Doctors urge everyone to get vaccinated against the flu and before the end of the month.
The flu season really begins in November and ends at the end of the year from January to the beginning of February.
STORIES TRENDS:
"This region is a major hub for travel. The airport is a major hub for international travel. So you can see an influx of patients from all over, "said Nikole Flowers, a family nurse.
As the disease has already begun in Georgia, the goal is to prevent the CDC card from turning red, or at least slowing it down.
The CDC said that thanks to researchers in Atlanta, they had updated their vaccines to better match the viruses expected from the influenza season.
Anyone over 6 months old can get the flu shot.
© 2018 Cox Media Group.
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