The number of lab-confirmed influenza cases in the region increased again last week, the County Health and Human Services Agency announced today.
\nA total of 74 flu cases were reported last week in San Diego County, 22 more than the 52 reported the prior week.
\n“We\u2019re seeing a steady increase in flu cases in recent weeks, a sign that influenza activity in the region is growing,” said Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County public health officer. “The best protection against influenza is getting a flu shot.”
\nLast week\u2019s flu case total is more than double the 33 lab-confirmed cases reported during the same week last season. To date, three San Diegans have died from influenza this season, compared to one death at the same time last year. Last season, 77 people in the region died from complications from the flu.
\n“Everyone should get vaccinated now to avoid getting sick, especially those people at higher risk of developing complications from influenza,” Wooten added.
\nThe County Health and Human Services Agency publishes the Influenza Watch weekly report, which tracks key flu indicators and summarizes influenza surveillance in the region. The report is released every Wednesday during the flu season.
\nFor the week ending Nov. 9, the Influenza Watch report shows the following: \u2022 Emergency department visits for influenza-like illness: 3 percent of all visits (compared to 3 percent the previous week) \u2022 Lab-confirmed influenza cases for the week: 74 (compared to 52 the previous week) \u2022 Total influenza deaths to date: 3 (compared to 1 at this time last season) \u2022 Total lab-confirmed cases to date: 475 (compared to 190 last season) Your Best Shot Against 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 65 years and older \u2022 People who live with or care for others who are at higher risk In 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 The 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 www.sdiz.org or call 211 San Diego.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The number of lab-confirmed influenza cases in the region increased again last week, the County Health and Human Services Agency announced today. A total of 74 flu cases were reported last week in San Diego County, 22 more than the 52 reported the prior week. “We\u2019re seeing a steady increase in flu cases in recent […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":265753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11560","_seopress_titles_title":"San Diego flu cases up again","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[12360,11560,11551],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-265754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-duplicate","category-la-jolla-village-news","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265754","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=265754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265754\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/265753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}