Community Corner
Flu’s Impact Begins to Wane Across Minnesota
The Department of Health says there were an additional 15 deaths last week. There have been 75 this flu season, including Carly Christenson of St. Louis Park.
Influenza killed 15 more Minnesotans last week, bringing the total number of state deaths in the current outbreak to 75—more than the total number of state residents killed during the last big outbreak during 2009-10.
One of those deaths was Carly Christenson, 14, of St. Louis Park. She died of flu-related complications Jan. 8.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) weekly flu update, released Thursday afternoon, said only 208 people across the state were newly hospitalized last week with laboratory-confirmed influenza. That is a big drop from the 476 hospitalized the previous week.
Health Department spokesman Doug Schultz told WCCO that it'll be another week before officials know for sure where the flu season has peaked in Minnesota. But he added that trends are pointing in that direction.
For example, there were only nine confirmed outbreaks in long-term care facilities last week; there were more than 50 the week before.
Health Forecast
Google flu trends says Influenza activity in Minnesota still is "intense." The same holds true for most of the United States. The flu activity in Alabama, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, North Dakota and South Dakota has dropped to "high.
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