Peninsula Man Dies After Flu Diagnosis: Report

SAN MATEO, CA — A San Mateo man died just days after he got sick with the flu, his wife recently told a local news station. Juliette Cody said her husband Charlie died a few days after Christmas.

Cody shared her story with NBC Bay area "...in hopes that people will take the deadly flu season seriously," the television station reported. Charlie Cody started coughing on Christmas Day and three days later went to the emergency room at San Mateo County Medical Center. He died that night.

Meanwhile, flu activity continued to intensify last week, reaching its highest level in almost a decade, according to the latest data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In California, 127 deaths are now blamed on the flu this season. Twenty-two of those deaths were in the Bay Area alone, state data shows.

Click here to read more about the Cody case on NBC Bay Area.

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