Department spokeswoman Shannon Libby says it’s early to see so much flu activity, with case numbers typically going up in January or February.

863 Ohioans have been hospitalized with influenza this season, compared with just 65 by this time last season.

Totals from early October through Dec. 22 included 326 hospitalized across the state during the week of Dec. 16-22.

That compares with just nine hospitalized statewide with the flu during the same week in 2011.

The Ohio Department of Health collects the data from city and county health departments and reports flu hospitalizations weekly.

The Ohio Department of Health says the Madison County woman died this week. It says she had underlying medical conditions, but the H3N2v influenza virus may have contributed to her death.

She became ill after having contact with hogs at the Ross County fair.

Ohio has 102 cases of the virus in people from 6 months to 61 years old, many linked to contact with hogs at fairs. The state health director says most have been mild illnesses.

He’s urging at-risk groups to avoid swine exhibits and take other precautions. Those groups include young children, older residents, pregnant woman and people with weakened immune systems or underlying medical conditions.

The state Department of Health says the number of confirmed cases in Ohio now sits at 54, with most involving people who’ve had direct contact with hogs at county fairs. The biggest pocket of cases came in southwest Ohio’s Butler county…officials say they’ve found eight cases in Champaign County, three in Clark County, two cases in Franklin County, and one case each in Morrow and Ross counties.

Health officials have not found any infections that have passed from person-to-person. They say this year’s H3N2 strain is not as strong as the 2009 strain that killed more than 12,000 people.