DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Iowa health officials say two people in the state have died from complications of the flu in recent weeks.

The Iowa Department of Public Health says the deaths occurred in a woman between the ages of 61 and 80 in central Iowa and in a woman older than 81 in northwest Iowa.

Officials say both women had underlying conditions or other contributing factors in their deaths.

Health officials say flu cases have recently increased in Iowa communities.

The federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone over 6 months old get the flu vaccine. The very young, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems are at greater risk of complications from the respiratory illness.

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