There were four influenza-related deaths reported during the week of Oct. 25-31 in South Dakota, including one in Pennington County, for a total of 13 such deaths to date this flu season. Pennington County has had the most flu deaths of any county in the state, with four. Minnehaha and Shannon counties have both had two deaths.

The number of confirmed H1N1 cases dropped last week, as did the percentage of positive rapid-antigen tests and flu-related hospitalizations. There were 376 H1N1 cases confirmed and 98 hospitalizations due to influenza for the week ending Oct. 31. School absenteeism caused by illness fell to 5 percent overall of K-12 schoolchildren statewide.