Spring fever? Second wave of flu season hits Northeast

Just when most people thought they'd made it through this year's nasty flu season - a second, milder wave of flu is hitting the Northeast.

Months ago, the flu season seemed to be winding down. But in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's latest flu update, released Friday, health officials reported widespread flu-like illnesses in six states. Rhode Island is the latest to join the list, which includes Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Jersey and New York.

Officials from the CDC say the flu season started in December and peaked by mid-January. Most of the illnesses during the peak of the season were caused by the H1N1 strain, known as the swine flu.

But, as happens some years, a second wave of a milder flu strain is hitting in the spring. The virus responsible for this year's spring outbreak is mostly a type known as Influenza B.

The latest CDC data also shows that 86 children died of the flu during the 2013-2014 flu season. That's lower than the 171 who died from flu the year before, but much higher than 2011-2012, when just 35 children died of the flu nationwide.