Alabama becomes the only U.S. state that still was reporting widespread cases of A/H1N1 flu during the week of Dec. 27, 2009-Jan. 2, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday.

"One state (Alabama) reported geographically widespread influenza activity, 12 states reported regional influenza activity, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and 17 states reported local influenza activity, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 19 states reported sporadic influenza activity, and one state reported no influenza activity," the CDC said on its website.

In late October, 48 U.S. states were reporting widespread cases of A/H1N1 flu activity. But since then, there has been a decline across the country. Last Friday, the CDC said that only four states had widespread cases by the end of 2009.

As the current wave of A/H1N1 flu continues to wane, U.S. health officials on Thursday warned the public that the A/H1N1 virus is still circulating in the United States, and that experts expect it to continue to circulate for some time.

With 136 million doses of the A/H1N1 vaccine available in the country, Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC"e;s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, advised Americans who have not yet been vaccinated to get the vaccine as soon as possible.

"The illness is down. There"e;s plenty of vaccine. It"e;s a key window of opportunity," she said, adding that "having as many people vaccinated as possible is our best course of action."

Source: Xinhua