Georgia ranks as the sickest state in the U.S., according to new report

As the flu season rages on, Georgia is feeling the brunt of the virus.

Newly released data from health technology company Kinsa Health revealed that the peach state is the sickest in the nation with 7.78% of the population falling ill. Residents are experiencing symptoms like cough, fever and body aches as they battle the flu. They're also 115% sicker than state-level illnesses reported this time last year.

» RELATED: Flu activity picks up in Georgia as death toll rises

Towns County is the sickest with 8.68% of the population falling ill. That’s followed by Raburn County with 8.44%, Stephens County with 8.17%, Forsyth County with 8.16% and Banks County with 8.15%.

Atlanta isn’t too far behind when it comes to flu-fighting residents. The capital, which sits inside two counties, has 7.63% of Fulton County under the weather and 7.76% of DeKalb County ill.

Georgia was followed by Michigan, which has a sick population of 6.89% and South Carolina with 6.65% of the population under the weather.

» RELATED: CDC: Rates of high flu levels nearly double across US

Top 10 sickest United States

National sickness rates have increased over the last year. Today, 5.05% of the U.S. is sick compared to 2.67% falling ill in January 2019.

The data has been collected by Kinsa, which reviews where flu-like illnesses are spreading in real-time with the use of smart thermometers and the Kinsa Health app. The company gathers more than 25 million anonymous temperature readings. It uses these tools to estiamate the percentage of the population who are sick, most often with cold and flu. The company says its data is almost perfectly aligned with influenza data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Recently, the Atlanta-based CDC reported that high flu levels have doubled in the U.S. Georgia is among the 19 high-infection states. So far, the agency estimates 3.7 million people have been infected with the flu this season.