FILE: UNDATED: A worker at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention sits at a station in the emergency operations center in Atlanta, Ga. (AP)
ATLANTA – Flu season appears to be picking up.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says five states had widespread reports of flu last week, up from zero two weeks earlier.
A CDC report released Thursday says four of the states were in the South -- Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Virginia. The other was New York.
The report also says that tests of about 120 virus samples show the circulating flu strains seem to be well-matched to this season's flu vaccine.
Health officials say an estimated 23,600 flu-related deaths occur each year.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
