The alarming spread of influenza in the country has somewhat waned but is still over three-and-a-half times the yearly average.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) on Friday, the rate of suspected patients decreased for the fourth consecutive week in the fifth week of January, reaching 30-point-four out of every one-thousand.

After peaking at 99-point-eight out of one-thousand in the first week of January, the rate gradually sloped off to 86-point-one in the following week and 57-point-seven in the third week of the month.

Thirty-point-four out of one-thousand, however, is still more than the 27-point-two out of one-thousand from a year earlier, and three-point-five times the past average of eight-point-six.

The rate was the highest among children aged seven to 12 at 50 out of every one-thousand, followed by 39-point-nine of one-thousand among those aged between 13 and 18.

Thirteen-point-five out of one-thousand seniors aged 65 and older were suspected of contracting the influenza virus.