Flu Season Death Toll Rises To 22 In North Carolina

The flu continues to be widespread in North Carolina, however, influenza-like illness was low in the second week of January, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Three more children more died last week from flu-related causes in the second week of 2019 end in the U.S., bringing the pediatric death toll to 19, CDC said. The flu is now considered widespread in 30 states and Guam. The H1N1(swine flu) strain is predominant in most of the country while the H3N2 strain is predominant in the southeast.

In North Carolina, 22 people have died this flu season as of Jan. 12, 2019, according to state health officials.

According to the CDC, widespread flu activity was reported in 30 states, including North Carolina. The remaining states reported regional, local or sporadic flu activity. The geographic spread of flu activity does not measure the severity of the virus.

The CDC's influenza-like-illness (ILI) surveillance measures the level of flu activity within a state. According to the latest ILI data, nine states have high flu activity. However, the ILI surveillance does not measure geographic spread so the CDC cautions that outbreaks in a single city could cause a state to have high flu activity. In the preceding week that ended Jan. 5, the ILI data showed that 15 states had high flu activity.

The flu can cause serious illness, hospitalization and death. The groups most at risk are older adults, very young children, pregnant women and those with certain chronic medical conditions, according to the CDC.

You can use the CDC's flu vaccine finder to locate a pharmacy or clinic near you that provides the vaccine:

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

According to the CDC, symptoms of the flu include:

• Fever or feeling feverish/chills (Though not everyone with flu will have a fever)
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Muscle or body aches
• Headaches
• Fatigue (tiredness)
• Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.

Photo via Shutterstock