The spread of the flu across the United States appears to have slowed with the number of cases falling off in portions of five states in the South and Southeast, a federal official told CNN early Friday.

The news came hours before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was due to release its flu advisory report for December 30 to January 5, which according to the official with knowledge of the findings will also show the number of flu-related deaths for children climbed by two last week.