MN Confirms 1st Flu Case of Season

ST. PAUL (AP) - The flu season has officially arrived in Minnesota.

Minnesota health officials have confirmed the season's first influenza case in the state. It's a 26-year-old woman from Olmsted County in southeastern Minnesota.

The Minnesota Department of Health's Public Health Laboratory confirmed the woman's illness was caused by the A (H3) strain of the virus. That strain appears to be covered by this year's vaccine.

The woman had no underlying health conditions and was not hospitalized. Health officials say she had not yet been vaccinated this season.

Kristen Ehresmann, director of infectious diseases for the state health department, says the first flu case is a good reminder for Minnesotans to get vaccinated now.

Influenza season in Minnesota runs from October through April, and typically peaks in February.