Latest news, weather and high school sports for Albany and Southwest Georgia

ATLANTA (AP) -- Flu season appears to be picking up. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says five states had widespread reports of flu last week, up from zero two weeks earlier.

A CDC report released Thursday says four of the states were in the South - Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Virginia. The other was New York. The report also says that tests of about 120 virus samples show the circulating flu strains seem to be well-matched to this season's flu vaccine.

Health officials say an estimated 23,600 flu-related deaths occur each year.

(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)