14 new flu deaths reported; Indiana tally at 25 for season
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Fourteen more flu deaths have been reported this week in Indiana, bringing the total of deaths this flu season to 25, state health officials said Friday.
The Indiana State Department of Health report does not say where the victims died or give their specific ages, but it does state that 16 of the deaths were people 65 years of age or older. That number grew from four a week earlier.
Seven of the deaths were people ages 50-64. The other deaths involved people from age 5-24 and age 25-49. The state’s first flu death of the season involved the age 5-24 victim.
The latest report from the department, for the last days of 2017, shows the flu as being widespread in the Hoosier state.
Hospitals in Indianapolis and other parts of central Indiana have implemented restrictions due to the spread of the flu virus.
The state recorded 103 flu deaths in the 2016-2017 season, which ended in May.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in December that influenza activity increased significantly over recent weeks with influenza A(H3N2) viruses predominating. “In the past, A(H3N2) virus-predominant influenza seasons have been associated with more hospitalizations and deaths in persons aged 65 years and older and young children compared to other age groups,” the CDC said.