INDIANAPOLIS -- The number of flu-related deaths in Indiana has doubled to start out the new year.
According to the Indiana State Department of Health, as of January 6, 50 Hoosiers have died from the flu this season.
For the week ending Dec. 30, the state reported 25 flu-related deaths for the season. There were only nine deaths reported the previous week.
The report does not say where in Indiana the deaths have occurred. 
The first flu-related death in Indiana for the 2017-18 season was reported on December 8, more than a month later than the first death of 2016. The first death of the season was a juvenile, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.
Flu activity is widespread in Indiana which has prompted several central Indiana hospitals to start restricting visitors.
READ | These hospitals are restricting visitors because of the flu
The flu is “spread by respiratory droplets released when infected people cough or sneeze nearby or when people touch surfaces or objects contaminated with those infectious respiratory droplets. People can also become infected by touching surfaces or objects contaminated with influenza viruses and then touching their eyes, mouth or nose,” according to the ISDH.
Symptoms include:
- fever of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or greater
- headache
- fatigue
- cough
- muscle aches
- sore throat
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