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ETCH reports flu numbers on the decline as fewer cases reported in Tennessee

The East Tennessee Children's Hospital said there was a noticeable decline in children testing positive for the flu, and no new deaths were reported.

The flu season appears to be winding down for East Tennessee as well as most of the U.S.

140 children tested positive for the flu between Feb. 13 and Feb. 19 at the East Tennessee Children's Hospital, which the center said was lower than previous weeks and on a downward trend according to Erica Estep at ETCH.

At the University of Tennessee Medical Center, nobody tested positive for the flu out of the 20 that had visited the hospital for flu symptoms. No new deaths were reported this week.

As of Feb. 20, eight children and one pregnant woman were reported to have died as a result of the flu in the state of Tennessee. Three of the children were from East Tennessee. The state only tracks and reports flu deaths involving children or pregnant women.

The University of Tennessee Medical Center reported two weeks ago that 10 people had died as a result of the flu, however, these victims were adults so they were not included in the state's numbers.

The lower numbers reflect a similar pattern reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in recent weeks.

Across the U.S., the number of people testing positive for the most prevalent flu strain, Flu A, peaked weeks ago and continues to see a rapid decline. The secondary Flu B strain continues to see a slow growth when taking national laboratory data into account, however, all positively-tested strains of the flu reported to U.S. Public Health labs saw a significant drop in reporting this week -- most notably Flu A.

Specifically to Tennessee, the CDC reported a decline in the most current week for both the total number of positive flu reports in the state as well as the total number of patients visiting the hospital with flu symptoms compared to the previous week.

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