Kentucky’s flu season has been especially deadly for children, and it’s not quite over yet

Jackie Starkey
·3 min read

Monday marked the start of spring, but winter respiratory viruses are still circulating.

Flu activity, which can last well into the spring months in Kentucky, is increasing in some areas, including Fayette County, according to the latest update from the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

In its most recent seasonal report, which includes data from March 5 to 11, the cabinet reported nine counties in the commonwealth are seeing an increase in flu activity over the week prior: Fayette, Letcher, Perry, Leslie, Knott, Breathitt, Owsley, Lee and Wolfe.

Most of Kentucky has plateaued in the more recent reporting week, meaning “no change in activity since previous week,” per the state Department for Public Health.

Flu activity in Kentucky and the US

Over the most recent reporting week, there were 96 new laboratory-confirmed cases of the flu in the state, bringing the total to 42,372 for the season. Health officials caution these numbers reflect only a portion of real flu cases during any given period.

One hundred and forty people have died of the flu in the state this winter, nine of whom were younger than 18. The state health department reports six individuals have died from a flu and COVID-19 co-infection.

Pediatric flu deaths in the state reached a record high in December. The current flu season had tied with the 2019-20 season as the deadliest on record for Kentucky children, with six deaths reported.

At the time, commissioner of the Department for Public Health Dr. Steven Stack said the 2022-23 flu season was “on track to be the worst in Kentucky in at least 10 years.”

In comparison, state data indicate that by the tail end of the 2019-20 flu season that May, more than 27,400 cases had been confirmed, a figure this year’s flu season has already eclipsed.

Though peak flu season usually runs from late January through February in the state, the illness saw an early wave late last year across the U.S. In Kentucky, cases peaked in November, according to state data, and have fallen off sharply since then.

According to the latest federal overview from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Kentucky was seeing “minimal” flu activity for the week ending March 11.

This map from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows flu activity by state as of March 11, 2023.
This map from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows flu activity by state as of March 11, 2023.

The CDC uses data on activity from the Influenza-like Illness Surveillance Network.

Flu activity in Lexington

Lexington has recorded nearly 3,400 confirmed flu cases this year, according to the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department, though the real number of cases is likely far higher.

For the week running March 5 to 11, the health department reports three new cases, with a total flu death toll there of 13.

“We’ve had cases into May before, so we are not finished with the flu season just yet,” Kevin Hall, the health department’s communications officer, told the Herald-Leader late last month.

Though he said interest in the flu shot has waned recently, the free vaccine is still available at the public health clinic at 650 Newtown Pike three days a week. You can call 859-288-2483 to make an appointment, and you can also get your COVID-19 shot while there.

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