Florida’s third flu-related death since October 2012 is a person under the age of 18 here in Duval County, according to the Duval County Health Department.

DCHD has not released the age or gender of the person at this point.

Epidemiologist Karen Elliott tracks the virus for the DCHD.  She tells our news partner Action News that Duval is seeing the typical strain of flu, nothing new or different. 

She says it’s not as widespread in Jacksonville as other parts of the state.  Duval is currently reporting moderate levels of influenza, she says.  And it’s elevated, but they expect that for this time of year.

Elliott says it’s a good time to remind people how important it is to get vaccinated for the flu.

She says anyone over the age of six months can get a vaccination, and only some people who may have a severe egg allergy won’t be able to get it.  She also recommends people to stay at home if they’re sick and wash their hands often, even if they aren’t infected.

The DCHD only records pediatric flu-related deaths, meaning they track them among people under the age of 18, not adults.  The CDC estimates the flu kills 23,000 people a year in the U.S.

CLICK HERE for the latest flu data from the Centers for Disease Control.