The Whitehall Ledger - Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana

Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) officials are reporting substantial influenza (flu) activity during the first three months of this current flu season, from September through December 2022, that has far exceeded the prior five-year averages.

Since the week of September 25 through December 31, 2022, there have been 408 influenza-associated hospitalizations reported to DPHHS, well above the five-year seasonal average of 88 hospitalizations for that same time frame. The five-year seasonal average for hospitalizations for an entire flu season is 669.

Flu season usually pea...