WASHINGTON — Flu season is in full swing, with wide outbreaks in 11 states, including Hawai'i — and a new strain is starting to emerge that this year's vaccine doesn't specifically target, the government's public health chief said yesterday.

People still should get their flu shot, and there's plenty available, said Dr. Julie Gerberding, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But a new H3N2 strain emerged near the end of Australia's flu season, too late to be included in the U.S. vaccine. Called H3N2/Brisbane-like, it is now sickening Americans, although it still is making for a small proportion of cases, Gerberding cautioned.

SEWAGE SPILLS INTO S.F. BAY

SAN FRANCISCO — An estimated 2.7 million gallons of partially treated sewage and storm water spilled into San Francisco Bay from a Marin County water-treatment plant, authorities said yesterday.

The accidental release happened Thursday night when rainwater overwhelmed a facility operated by the Sewerage Agency of Southern Marin and an emergency alarm system failed to alert officials, Marin County officials said.

PLANE CRASHES ON LANDING; 6 DEAD

MOUNT AIRY, N.C. — A twin-engine plane crashed yesterday as it tried to land amid low fog at a small airport in northwest North Carolina, killing all six people on board, officials said.

Stephanie Conner, a Surry County emergency services shift supervisor, said investigators had confirmed there were no survivors.

No one on the ground was hurt, said Warren Woodberry, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

KENYA ENEMIES AGREE ON PEACE

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga agreed yesterday on a plan to end weeks of post-election violence that has brought this East African country to the edge of disaster.

With international pressure mounting, the death toll rising and the economy in various stages of collapse, the two leaders signed an agenda that includes a pledge to resolve the underlying political crisis within 15 days.

Former U.N. secretary general Kofi Annan has been mediating between the two sides to end fighting that has killed more than 800 people and displaced 300,000 since the disputed Dec. 27 election. At least nine people were killed yesterday.