The number of local influenza deaths increased to 74 after 11 additional fatalities were reported last week, the County Health and Human Services Agency recently announced.
\nThe new flu deaths include a 26-year-old woman from South County who died Feb. 13 from influenza B. Only two of the 11 reported deaths occurred last week, and all had underlying medical conditions.
\n“Influenza can be deadly, especially for those with existing chronic health conditions,” said Wilma J. Wooten, M.D., M.P.H.,\u00a0County public health officer. “Getting a flu shot is the best way to prevent from getting sick.”
\nThe number of lab-confirmed cases decreased last week when 1,232 cases were reported. That\u2019s 402 fewer flu cases compared to the previous week. To date, a total of 17,935 cases have been reported.
\nAlso, fewer people showed up at local emergency departments with influenza-like illness last week; 6% of all visits. The figure was 7% the week before.
\nThe County Health and Human Services Agency publishes the\u00a0Influenza Watch\u00a0weekly report, which tracks key flu indicators and summarizes influenza surveillance in the region.
\nFor the week ending Feb. 22, the report shows the following: \u2022 Emergency department visits for influenza-like illness: 6% of all visits (compared to 7% the previous week). \u2022 Total influenza deaths to date: 74 (compared to 41 at this time last season). \u2022 Total lab-confirmed cases to date: 17,935 (compared to 5,486 last season). WHEN TO SEEK MEDICAL HELP
\nPeople with influenza-like symptoms continue to crowd local emergency departments and are taxing some hospitals.
\nCounty health officials are encouraging people who are sick to first contact their health care provider by telephone or arrange an urgent appointment. You should go to an emergency department when you have any of the following symptoms: \u2022 Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath; \u2022 Chest pain or abdominal pain; \u2022 Sudden dizziness; \u2022 Confusion; \u2022 Severe or persistent vomiting; \u2022 Flu-like symptoms that appear to get better, but then return with a fever and worse cough. HOW TO PREVENT THE FLU
\nThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone 6 months and older get a flu shot every year. It takes about two weeks for immunity to develop.
\nFlu vaccination is especially important for people who are at high risk of developing serious complications from influenza. They include: \u2022 People with chronic medical conditions like asthma, diabetes and lung disease, even if symptoms are under control; \u2022 Pregnant women; \u2022 People aged 65 years and older; \u2022 People who live with or care for others who are at higher risk.
\nIn addition to getting vaccinated, people should also do the following to avoid getting sick: \u2022 Wash hands thoroughly and often; \u2022 Use hand sanitizers; \u2022 Stay away from sick people; \u2022 Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth; \u2022 Clean commonly touched surfaces; \u2022 If you are sick, stay home and avoid contact with others.
\nThe flu vaccine is available at doctors\u2019 offices and retail pharmacies. If you don\u2019t have medical insurance, you can go to a County public health center to get vaccinated. For a list of locations, visit sdiz.org\u00a0or call 211 San Diego.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The number of local influenza deaths increased to 74 after 11 additional fatalities were reported last week, the County Health and Human Services Agency recently announced. The new flu deaths include a 26-year-old woman from South County who died Feb. 13 from influenza B. Only two of the 11 reported deaths occurred last week, and […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":258381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11559","_seopress_titles_title":"Flu deaths increase to 74, but cases decrease in San Diego","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11559,11551],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-258384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beach-bay-press","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258384"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258384\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}