Two-thirds of child flu deaths in states in or near the South

Nearly every state in the country is reporting "elevated" cases of flu, including the H1N1 swine flu. But a handful of states in the South and lower Great Plains (including the Southern states of Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas) are bearing the brunt of the flu's deadly impact on children.According to the latest update from the Centers for Disease Control, two areas in or near the South have accounted for 35 of the 53 "pediatric deaths" associated with the flu this season, or 66% of the national total.

The CDC collects data from 10 regions nationally. Of the 53 child deaths directly attributable to flu, 16 have come from Region 4, which is all Southern states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Region 6 has suffered the highest number of child deaths from flu: 19. Region 6 includes Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

This data dramatically understates the number of child deaths from the flu. The above data was last updated October 17. Since then, the CDC has announced the number of child deaths from swine flu alone has doubled to 100 cases. Across all age groups, over 1,000 are suspected to have died from the H1N1 virus.