Pennsylvania recorded 22 flu-related deaths this season, as of Jan. 5.
View full size
A tent is set up to see flu patients outside of the Emergency Room at Lehigh Valley Hospital on Monday at Cedar Crest, in Salisbury Township, Pa. The tent was set up after cases were piling up at the Salisbury Township hospital Monday, with the hospital reporting an extremely busy flu season so far.
Brian Downs said he could only confirm the death at a Lehigh Valley Hospital facility but could not elaborate.
Pennsylvania recorded 22 flu-related deaths this season as of Jan. 5, according to the state Department of Health.
None of those were pediatric cases, making the infant an additional death.
Most of the reported deaths were among people ages 65 and older, the department reports. Two deaths were otherwise healthy people under age 50.
Nationwide, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 18 pediatric deaths from Sept. 30 through Dec. 29, the most recent data available on its website. Its Region 2, which includes New Jersey, has seen three of those; none were reported in Region 3, encompassing Pennsylvania, during that period. The CDC defines pediatric cases as those in people under age 18.
The 2011-12 flu season saw 34 reported pediatric deaths, down from 122 in 2010-11. In 2009-10, when a strain of swine flu broke out, the United States saw 282 reported pediatric deaths.
Medical professionals are reporting a large number of cases so far this winter. Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township announced Monday the opening of a second, temporary emergency department. The “mobile surge tent” set up outside the existing emergency department began accepting patients experiencing flu-like symptoms Tuesday.
According to the CDC:
The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by viruses that infect the nose, throat and lungs. The best way to prevent the flu is by getting a flu vaccine each year.
Signs and symptoms include fever or feeling feverish/chills, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches, fatigue and, in some cases, vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.
Most experts believe flu viruses spread mainly by droplets made when people with flu cough, sneeze or talk. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby. Less often, a person might also get flu by touching a surface or object that has flu virus on it and then touching their own mouth, eyes or possibly their nose.
Those infected can pass on the virus to someone else before they know they are sick, as well as while they are sick. Most healthy adults may be able to infect others beginning one day before symptoms develop and up to five to seven days after becoming sick. Some people, especially young children and people with weakened immune systems, might be able to infect others even longer.