Flu ‘increased notably’ in Alaska in last month, AK Dept. of Health says

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – New data shows the number of confirmed Alaska flu cases more than doubled from the last report, according to the Alaska Department of Health (DOH) snapshot data for the week of Dec. 20.

Flu cases have been on the rise since mid-November, according to the updated Alaska Department of Health Respiratory Virus Snapshot published Dec. 20, 2025. This December update saw the largest jump in cases since the increase started, going from 391 lab-confirmed cases the week of Dec. 13 to 816 the week of Dec. 20.

It’s quite a rise from the same time last year, which reported only 108 lab-confirmed cases in the week of Dec. 21, 2024, but the next week, which had the reporting date of Dec. 28, 2024, saw a jump in cases to 484.

And this past week’s numbers rivals the 2025 peak at 990 cases reported March 1, 2025, according to the DOH.

The highest spike of influenza cases reported over the past five years was on Dec. 13, 2022, with 1,621 cases reported that week.

The state reported in the Alaska Influenza Surveillance Summary that last year Alaska saw a “higher number of reported cases than in previous years, with activity more concentrated in a pronounced peak.”

A national trend

The CDC said the flu season is just starting and is potentially gearing up to be substantial.

“I don’t think I ever remember seeing it this severe, this soon,” Dr. Suchitra Rao, an infectious disease specialist at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, told NBC News. “Our emergency department is full of kids coming in with the flu.”

The CDC said the flu is increasing across the country, but that the timing “is similar to several past seasons.”

The CDC estimates during this season there have been 4.6 million flu cases, 49,000 hospitalizations (a little over 1% of cases) and 1,900 deaths.

Those numbers also rival data from last year, where the CDC estimated 5.3 million cases, 63,000 hospitalizations and 2,700 deaths.

COVID-19 & RSV

The flu is not the only respiratory virus the state is tracking.

As of the latest Department of Health snapshot, 50 cases of COVID-19 were reported have been reported for the week of Dec. 20, a drop from last year’s report of 82 cases during the same time period, the DOH reported.

RSV cases are also lower than previous years right now.

During the week of Dec. 20, 75 cases of RSV were reported, which is much less than the 266 reported cases the same time last year, according to the DOH.

Data over the past five years from the Department of Health shows the months between December and March are when RSV is most active in Alaska, peaking between the last weeks of December to the first weeks of January.

How to stay healthy

The CDC lists several ways to help prevent spreading or catching the flu, but said the “single best way to reduce the risk of seasonal flu and its potentially serious complications is to get vaccinated each year.”

While data from the CDC shows getting vaccinated could decrease a visit to the doctor by 40 to 60%, it doesn’t mean you won’t get sick.

This makes strategies that protect yourself and others from spreading germs all the more important.

Tips from the CDC include: avoiding close contact, staying home if sick, covering mouth and nose (even if not sick), washing hands, avoiding touching eyes, nose or mouth, taking steps for cleaner air and practicing good hygiene.

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