Flu Deaths In Washington Reach 8-Year High

SEATTLE, WA - Deaths from influenza have reached an eight-year high in Washington, according to data released this week by the state Department of Health. So far in the 2017-18 flu season, 281 people have died, topping the record 278 who died during the 2016-17 season.

By comparison, only 36 people died of flu over the 2010-11 season. Only 20 died in the 2011-12 season.

Most people who died of the flu this season - 216 - were over age 65. Only 14 people between the ages of 1 and 49 died of flu in Washington this season.

Flu season typically starts in late fall and peaks in January. By late April, the flu season is winding down. Only about 30 flu cases were confirmed in the state last week. Flu hospitalizations have dipped below baseline in Washington.

At the beginning of this flu season, the Centers for Disease Control reported that the H3N2 flu virus was most common. The flu vaccine is typically less effective on that strain, according to the CDC. In January, the H1N1 became more common, but vaccines are very effective in combating that strain.

Most flu deaths in Washington have been recorded in King and Spokane counties, with Snohomish and Pierce counties close behind. Here's a tally of flu deaths by county so far this seas:

• Asotin - 1
• Benton - 20
• Chelan - 6
• Clallam - 5
• Clark - 15
• Cowlitz - 3
• Grant - 3
• Grays Harbor - 7
• Island - 4
• King - 41
• Kitsap - 15
• Kittitas - 2
• Lewis - 3
• Lincoln - 1
• Mason - 2
• Okanogan - 1
• Pend Oreille - 1
• Pierce - 31
• Skagit - 4
• Snohomish - 38
• Spokane - 40
• Stevens - 4
• Thurston - 13
• Walla Walla - 4
• Whatcom - 7
• Whitman - 2
• Yakima - 8

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