RICHMOND, Va.  — The number of flu cases in Virginia is on the increase, and state health officials say a less common type of the virus is turning up more often.

The Virginia Department of Health says that out of more than 1,800 cases confirmed through lab reports since the beginning of the current flu season, 75% have been identified as Type B, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.

“We normally see increases a little later, but it’s not unusual. It’s tracking along with what we saw in the 2014-2015 season,” said Em Stephens, respiratory disease coordinator for the health department. “The unusual thing about this season is flu B.”

The frequency of type B influenza in Virginia mirrors what’s being seen across the country. It has been found in 68% of all lab-tested cases reported to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health officials said type B is generally more common in children. It also means that people over 65 who are usually susceptible to the flu might not catch it this year.

Scott Pauley, a spokesman for the CDC, said it’s the first time since the 1992-1993 flu season that influenza B has been identified more often than influenza A nationally.

“It’s good news in the fact that hopefully it’ll be a less severe season in terms of deaths, but it’s still looking like it will be a strong flu season,” Pauley said. “We’re not sure when it could peak, but it could be sometime between now and February.”

In eastern and Northern Virginia, officials have respectively confirmed about 1,000 and 325 flu cases this season. In central Virginia, which includes the Richmond metro area, there have been 84 confirmed flu cases.

So far through the 2019-2020 flu season, there have been 255 reported pneumonia and influenza-associated deaths reported by the state health agency. There have been no reported pediatric deaths so far this season.

The CDC estimates there have been 2,100 deaths from the flu nationally this season.