Influenza

State health officials report continued increases in the number of influenza cases in South Dakota

The flu season is underway across the country and local health officials report continued increases in numbers of influenza cases across South Dakota.

Aberdeen Central High School has been hit hard by the flu.  Even members of the girls and boys basketball teams are affected.

In the past week, the state has seen a doubling in the number of flu-associated hospitalizations and a quadrupling of the number of flu-related deaths.

Three South Dakotans have died from a seasonal outbreak of Influenza A that got a lot worse the past week.

The community of Hartford says goodbye to their beloved Elementary Counselor Kieron Murphy.

As the first loss of life to influenza this season arrived this week, the State Department of Health looks to encourage everyone to be on guard against the disease.

State health officials are reporting South Dakota's first flu detections of the 2014-2015 season--one case of influenza A and two of influenza B.

Figures from the Centers for Disease Control show close to 60 percent of the state's residents were vaccinated against influenza last season.

The first influenza cases of the season have been detected in South Dakota, two of them in Minnehaha County.