Number of flu deaths in Snohomish County up to 18

EVERETT — The number of reported flu deaths in Snohomish County has more than doubled in the past week, now totaling 18.

That exceeds the total number of people killed during the entire flu season of 2014-15, when 16 people died from flu, according to the Snohomish Health District.

“I want everyone to understand this season is proving unusually severe,” Dr. Gary Goldbaum, health officer for the Snohomish Health District, said Friday.

“It is clearly affecting our hospitals, emergency rooms and clinics,” he said. “Our health care delivery system is under incredible stress.”

By late last week, the virus already had claimed eight lives here. The 10 most recent deaths were a woman in her early 90s and a woman in her late 70s, both from Lynnwood; a woman in her late 70s from Mill Creek; a man in his early 80s and another man in his mid-80s from Marysville; a man in his early 80s and another in his early 90s from Monroe; a man in his early 80s from Everett; a man in his late 80s from Mountlake Terrace; and a woman in her late 80s from Arlington.

All had other health problems, which made them more vulnerable to the flu.

The number of people who have been hospitalized because of influenza-related illness, 241, now exceeds the total of 182 for the 2014-15 flu season.

On Friday, 31 people were hospitalized because of flu-related illnesses at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett.

Influenza is expected to continue to spread at high levels. “We are not done with this flu season,” Goldbaum said. “I expect many more hospitalizations and even deaths as we progress through March, which typically is the end of flu season.”

This season’s flu is hitting older adults particularly hard, Goldbaum said. The average age of those who have died is about 82. The youngest to die was a woman in her early 50s.

Flu symptoms include sudden fever, cough, sore throat, headache, body aches and fatigue.

If people are sick with flu symptoms, it’s important that they stay home to prevent its spread, health officials say. Children and adults should be fever-free for 24 hours without the help of fever and pain relievers such as Tylenol before resuming daily activities.

More information, such as when people should seek medical treatment for flu-like symptoms, is available at the Snohomish Health District website, www.snohd.org/flu.

Influenza can be unusually troublesome for people with chronic health problems, such as heart disease or diabetes.

It also can be dangerous for children younger than 2 and adults 65 and older. A University of Washington researcher found that both age groups were hospitalized from influenza complications at about the same rates.

Goldbaum said he was concerned the recent warmer weather after weeks of unusually cold temperatures may be lulling people into being complacent about the flu. There’s still time for people to get vaccinated, he said.

“People often say, ‘I’m not going to get that sick,’ ” Goldbaum said.

“Even when we have a real epidemic as we do now, the vast majority of people aren’t sick or won’t get sick,” he said. “It’s hard for folks to appreciate this can be really serious. It’s worse when it happens to you.”

Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.

Source: Snohomish Health District

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