Updated 12/10/19

The winter flu season is off to its earliest start in more than 15 years.

According to Giles County School officials, the county has not seen above average in student absenteeism this school year.

An early barrage has begun to spread more broadly, and there is a decent chance flu season could peak much earlier than normal, health officials say.

A few schools in the state are closed this week because of flu like symptoms between teachers and students.

The last flu season to increase this early was in 2003 and 2004. Some experts think the early start may mean a lot of suffering is in store, but others say it’s too early to tell.

In 2018, flu season started off as a mild one but turned out to be the longest in 10 years.