The Ohio Department of Health says flu cases this past season were the most since it began keeping count.

Stats show that 5,200 Ohioans were hospitalized with the flu from September last year through mid-May 18.

That's even up from 2009-2010 when the swine flu pandemic when there were 3,200 flu-related hospitalizations in the state.

State health officials tell The Dayton Daily News that it's hard to say why there were so many cases during the past  flu season.

They say there's no indication that a new virus led to the spike in hospitalizations.

The numbers do show that the flu season began about a month earlier than normal and hospitalizations started going up in mid-December.

State officials say small amounts of harmful blue-green algae have led to testing and a sign warning swimmers not to swallow the water at a western Ohio reservoir.

But an Ohio Department of Natural Resources spokeswoman says the toxin levels are not enough to issue a public health advisory for Clarence J. Brown Reservoir in Buck Creek State Park.  The Dayton Daily News reports the park north of Springfield attracts about 380,000 people annually for boating, swimming, fishing and camping.

Officials say testing of the reservoir will continue.

Toxic algae caused problems in recent years for Grand Lake St. Marys, the state's largest inland lake. An algae bloom there in 2010 forced officials to urge visitors not to touch the water or eat fish from it.