Seven dead from flu in one week in WA

Seven people died from flu-related illness in Western Australia last week, taking the state's toll to 36 for the year so far.

Western Australia has recorded 36 flu-related deaths this year compared to four at the same time last year.

That includes seven deaths last week, the WA Health Department says.

According to figures released on Tuesday, there have been 12,768 laboratory-confirmed infections so far this year, which is a big leap from 1507 at this time last year.

There have been 1389 hospitalisations compared to 301 for the same period last year.

The flu season began about two months earlier than in previous years.