Positive tests for influenza and outpatient flu-related health care cases have ticked up over the past week, but overall numbers remain low compared to the previous season, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The latest Maine CDC data, which covers the week ending Dec. 7, shows a total of 29 new positive test results for influenza, for a total of 108 positive tests since the current flu season began in October. This is the third straight week of an increase in the number of positive tests, according to Maine CDC.

Outpatient health care visits related to the flu or flulike illnesses are also slightly up. Maine CDC, using a percentage, indicated 1.74% of outpatient visits due to the flu over the past week. That’s slightly above the same figure in the same week in Maine in 2023.

Other data, however, reflects the low numbers seen this year since the start of the season. Emergency room visits related to the flu, also expressed in a percentage, stood at 1.77%, according to the latest data. That reflects a relatively flat trend that’s been going on for more than a month, and last week’s figures are lower than the same week in 2023. 

Flu-related hospitalizations also remain low, with three reported last week, for a total of five since the season began. Maine CDC historical data shows a number several times that for the same week in 2023. So far, no deaths have been reported this season due to the disease.

A map of the state from Maine CDC only shows “moderate” flu presence in Piscataquis County, with the rest of the state marked as “low.” A similar map from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention based on flu-related outpatient data showed similarly low numbers over roughly half of the country. 

The highest concentrations nationwide, according to the map, appear to be in Louisiana and Washington DC.