AUGUSTA (AP) – The flu season has arrived in Maine.

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that the first case of influenza was confirmed by laboratory tests this week.

The confirmed case was in Penobscot County, but Dr. Dora Anne Mills says it’s possible there are other cases that have not been confirmed. She says there has been a big increase in respiratory illnesses and flulike viruses in recent days.

The arrival of the flu is a month earlier than last year, but Mills says the illness is unpredictable. She says it usually peaks between December and April.

Mills says it’s not too late for people to get flu vaccines. She also says that washing hands and covering coughs are among the best ways to stop the spread of the flu.