JONESBORO, Ark. — More people have been sick than usual but things may be starting to improve, according to the latest weekly disease report from the health department.
Arkansas is currently at a “very high” intensity level for influenza-like illnesses, according to the latest viral respiratory diseases weekly report released by the Arkansas Department of Health. While the numbers are still bad, we may have seen the worst of the season.
Numbers appeared to peak around February 8, 2025, above 14% for total ER visits attributed to the flu, the highest in over two years. They’ve fallen substantially, with the weak ending Feb. 15 showing 10.7%. More notable is the total number of ER visits, 6,434 for the week ending Feb. 15. The previous week, those numbers were 11,256.
2,133 in Arkansas have been hospitalized for the flu since Sep. 29, 2024. 73 have died.
Like ER numbers, school absenteeism for Arkansas peaked in early Feb. with over 11% absent for the entire state. Those numbers, still high, have fallen since. For the week ending Feb. 14, 8.6% of students were absent in Arkansas. Closer to home, absenteeism in NEA looked like this:
- Craighead: 8.71%
- Greene: 8.74%
- Lawrence: 7.19%
- Poinsett: 8.52%
- Clay: 6.02%
- Mississippi: 9.09%
- Sharp: 9.19%
- Crittenden: 11.06%
- Jackson: 10.17%
- Independence: 6.38%
To read the full report, click this link: Viral Respiratory Diseases Weekly Report, Week Ending Saturday, February 15, 2025
Previous weeks available here.
SHARE THIS STORY WITH OTHERS:
Discover more from NEA Report
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Be the first to comment