Season’s first flu death hits state

The state Department of Public Health has reported the first flu death in Connecticut this season. And though experts said this isn’t necessarily a harbinger of a nastier-than-usual flu season, they say it should drive home the message that the flu is dangerous, and people should get vaccinated.

“Sometimes people don’t take the flu seriously, but it’s deadly,” said Dr. Zane Saul, chief of infectious disease at Bridgeport Hospital.

According to the health department, the person who died was older than 65. No other details about the individual were released.

The Department of Public Health reported that between Aug. 26 and Oct. 13, 22 people in the state were hospitalized with the flu, and 41 tested positive for the contagious respiratory illness. Cases of the flu are still classified as “sporadic” in the state, meaning small numbers of laboratory-confirmed influenza cases or a single laboratory-confirmed influenza outbreak has been reported.

Local hospitals said they have only see a handful of cases so far, but expect that rate to pick up soon. At Bridgeport Hospital, Saul said he wasn’t aware of anyone being hospitalized there with flu, but that several people had come in with symptoms.

Though Saul said October “is a little early for a death,” it doesn’t seem that flu activity is anywhere near its peak in the state. And he said that one early death doesn’t mean the state is in for a particularly bad flu season.

Dr. Goran Miljkovic, infectious disease specialist at Bridgeport Hospital, said adults 65 and older are particularly vulnerable to the flu, along with young children, and those with compromised immune systems.

He also said that a single, early death doesn’t necessarily cast a pall over the rest of the season.

“Even one case of flu can lead to a death,” Miljkovic said.

However, the state is coming off a particularly bad flu season. Last season, there were 154 deaths from the illness in Connecticut — including at least three children. It was the deadliest flu season in five years, according to the state Department of Public Health.

Nationwide, more than 80,000 people died from flu last year.

At least part of the reason the last flu season was so difficult was that the flu vaccine was not as effective as many had hoped. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last season’s flu vaccine was, on average, 36 percent effective at preventing flu infections.

In September, Congress approved $140 million in new federal funding toward a universal flu vaccine. That is on top of a $40 million increase in federal funding for development of a universal flu vaccine secured earlier this year.

Meanwhile, doctors said even when the flu shot isn’t a perfect match for the strains of flu circulating in an area, it does offer some protection.

“Influenza is a disease that can cause pneumonia and death,” said Dr. Michael Parry, director of infectious disease at Stamford Hospital. “That’s why we are so aggressive about getting people vaccinated.”