The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
State reports first flu death of the season
The state has had its first flu-related death of the season, according to the state Department of Public Health.
As of Dec. 2, the state reports, there has been one flu-associated death in a person older than 65. No other details were given. The state also reports 197 people had tested positive for the flu — an increase of more than 50 cases from the previous week, when 142 people had tested positive for the contagious respiratory illness.
The flu has been reported in seven of the state’s eight counties. Fairfield and Hartford counties are tied for the most flu-infected, with 59 cases each. New Haven County is a distant third, with 34 cases. There were 23 cases in New London County; nine in Tolland County, five in Litchfield County and four each in Middlesex and Windham counties.
Most of the flu viruses circulating in the state and the countries are Type A. Of Connecticut 197 flu cases, 150 were caused by influenza A, with an unspecified subtype. Type A (H3N2) was present in 18 cases and Type A (H1N1) was present in three cases. The rest were caused by influenza B.
There have been concerns nationwide about this year’s flu season, as the Northern Hemisphere — which gets the flu season first — has scene a record number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Preliminary reports have shown that the flu shot in the region seems to only be 10 percent effective in fighting influenza A (H3N2), which is the dominant strain.
But experts have said it is still too soon to tell what the flu season will be like here in the Southern Hemisphere. “It is important to remember that the flu season in the U.S. is just starting to ramp up and no studies on vaccine effectiveness for the Northern Hemisphere have been completed so far,” said Mick Bolduc, DPH’s vaccine coordinator for the Connecticut Immunization Program, in a written statement last week.
Others, including Bridgeport Hospital infectious disease chief Dr. Zane Saul, agreed that it is relatively early in the season — which could run as late as May — but that he and others at hospital were expecting a “robust” flu season.