Widespread flu activity is being reported across much of the country and the American Red Cross urges people who have not yet received a flu vaccine to get vaccinated now.

The Red Cross also has steps people can take to prevent the spread of the flu virus during what the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) say is the worst influenza outbreak in several years in the United States.

Widespread flu activity is reported in 41 states - Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.