California Influenza 2017-18: 733 fatalities

[Ronan Kelly]

7th flu death reported on Central Coast

KSBW Updated: 4:25 PM PST Jan 12, 2018
Amy Larson
KSBW.com Digital Media Manager

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. ?
A seventh Central Coast resident who is less than 65 years old has died from the flu, health officials told KSBW Friday.

The most recent influenza virus victim was a Santa Cruz County resident who was in their 30's.

Three flu patients died in Monterey County, two died in San Benito County, and two died in Santa Cruz County this flu season.


Contra Costa: 6
Fresno: 1
LA: 36
Marin: 1
Monterey: 3
Orange: 4
Placer: 1
Riverside: 4
San Benito: 2
San Bernadino: 1
San Diego: 91
San Luis Obispo: 10
Santa Barbara: 6
Santa Clara: 5
Santa Cruz: 1
Shasta: 1
Stanislaus: 4
Solano: 2
Tulare: 2
Ventura: 16

Total: 197

[Pathfinder]

California hospitals face a 'war zone' of flu patients ? and are setting up tents to treat them

By Soumya KarlamanglaContact Reporter
JANUARY 16, 2018 5:00 AM
...

Hospitals across the state are sending away ambulances, flying in nurses from out of state and not letting children visit their loved ones for fear they?ll spread the flu. Others are canceling surgeries and erecting tents in their parking lots so they can triage the hordes of flu patients.

?Those are all creative things we wouldn?t typically do, but in a crisis like this, we?re looking at,? said Michelle Gunnett, a nurse who oversees emergency services for a Southern California hospital system.

Staff members at Torrance Memorial Medical Center have been working long hours to care for a swell in sick patients that began in late December, said Dr. James McKinnell, infectious disease specialist. Some patients are incredibly ill with multiple strains of the flu, or the flu and pneumonia.

?There?s a little bit of a feeling of being in the trenches. we?re really battling these infections to try to get them under control,? McKinnell said. ?We?re still not sure if this is going to continue ? but it certainly is an inauspicious start.?
...

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-flu-demand-20180116-htmlstory.html

[Ronan Kelly]

San Jose mom, 40, dies days after coming down with flu, reports say (Santa Clara County - Ro)
Fox News


CDC: Flu is now considered epidemic in US
A 40-year-old mother in San Jose died two days after catching the flu, The San Francisco Chronicle reported, citing local media.

Katie Denise Oxley Thomas, who was considered healthy and liked to run marathons, died on Jan. 4, the report said. She is the 42 Californian under the age of 65 to die from the flu, the paper reported.
...

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2018/01/16/san-jose-mom-40-dies-days-after-coming-down-with-flu-reports-say.html

[JimO]

Orange County has reported six deaths due to flu this season.

[JimO]

Based on the Yolo County death reported above, two additional Orange County deaths,and the revised total for San Diego County below, the current tally is as follows:

Contra Costa: 6
Fresno: 1
LA: 36
Marin: 1
Monterey: 3
Orange: 6
Placer: 1
Riverside: 4
San Benito: 2
San Bernadino: 1
San Diego: 142
San Luis Obispo: 10
Santa Barbara: 6
Santa Clara: 5
Santa Cruz: 1
Shasta: 1
Stanislaus: 4
Solano: 2
Tulare: 2
Ventura: 16
Yolo: 1

Total: 251

This includes at least three pediatric fatalities.

[JimO]

San Diego County reports 142 fatalities through Week 2, including at least 1 pediatric death. I am on the County's mailing list so this volume of their Influenza Watch is not yet on their website, so I don't have a link for it yet.

[JimO]

Riverside County reports five flu-related deaths through Week 2.

[JimO]

Santa Barbara County is reporting eight flu-related deaths through Week 1.

[JimO]

Flu sweeps through Ventura County

Already 18 have died from complications | January 18, 2018
By Jessica Waite
jessica@theacorn.com
Coughs, fevers and headaches abound?Acorn country is in full-blown flu season, and as the county enters its fifth week of fighting the illness it?s hard for officials to say whether it?ll get better anytime soon.

?Usually we only see lots of cases of flu for about two or three weeks, so it?s really hard to tell when this is going to end,? said Dr. Robert Levin, county health officer. ?Hopefully it?ll at least slow down in the next week or two, but all that is is hopefulness.?

The county, like the rest of California, has been hit hard.

As of Tuesday morning, 18 Ventura County residents had died of flu-related complications since Christmas; two of them were younger than 65, Levin said.

[JimO]

Southern California hospitals grapple with flu patients ? and one has set up a tent

Southern California emergency rooms are seeing a surge of flu patients, and at least one hospital has set up an outdoor triage tent to handle the overflow of people with the flu or other illnesses.

?We?ve never had so many patients,? said Adrian Cotton, chief of medical operations at Loma Linda University Health in San Bernardino County.

-snip-

Loma Linda emergency physicians are seeing about 60 more patients a day than usual, Cotton said.

-snip-

The need for the tent is told in San Bernardino County?s flu figures.

The county saw a 300-percent increase in the number of influenza reports in the first week of January, health officials said. Reports went from 38 to 150.

-snip-

There have been six reported deaths in Riverside County, compared to two during the entire previous flu season, health officials reported. Three people have so far died in San Bernardino County, compared to two last flu season.

Orange County has reported 3,041 flu cases this season so far, compared to the 1,012 cases this time last year. Seven have died from the flu, while no deaths had been reported this time last year.

In Los Angeles County, health officials on Jan. 12 reported 36 deaths this season, compared to 13 at the same time last year.

Note: Based on the reported figures, the tally for the state, by county is as follows:

Contra Costa: 6
Fresno: 1
LA: 36
Marin: 1
Monterey: 3
Orange: 7
Placer: 1
Riverside: 6
San Benito: 2
San Bernadino: 3
San Diego: 142
San Luis Obispo: 10
Santa Barbara: 8
Santa Clara: 5
Santa Cruz: 1
Shasta: 1
Stanislaus: 4
Solano: 2
Tulare: 2
Ventura: 1
Yolo: 1

Total: 260

Of these, three pediatric deaths have been reported, one each in Orange, Riverside, and San Diego Counties.

[Ronan Kelly]

Flu death count in California jumps

Soumya Karlamangla Soumya KarlamanglaContact Reporter
The death toll from influenza in California rose sharply on Friday, amid a brutal flu season that has spread across the nation.

State health officials said that 32 people under 65 died last week of the flu, making it the deadliest week this season so far. In total, 74 people under age 65 have died of the flu since October, compared with 14 at the same time last year.
...

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-ln-flu-deaths-20180119-story.html

[JimO]

Note: This article indicates 3 deaths in Sacramento County and 1 additional death in Yolo County.

Is a flu surge headed Sacramento?s way? UC Davis prepares as state death toll jumps

UC Davis Medical Center is bracing for a surge in flu patients as some hospitals in the Bay Area and Southern California suffer medication shortages and put tents outside their facilities to accommodate a deluge of patients in their emergency rooms.
So far, the flu season in Sacramento has been comparatively mild. But health officials say that could quickly change.

?We have identified and are creating a space that is adjacent to our emergency department where we will create a flu treatment center,? said Dr. J. Douglas Kirk, the chief medical officer at UCD Medical Center. ?We will be prepared to open in the following week. We?ve set a target date of Jan. 24.?

The California Department of Public Health announced Friday that the number of flu-related fatalities rose to 74, up from 42 last Friday. Sacramento County has reported just three flu-related deaths; Placer County, one; Yolo County, two; and El Dorado County, none.

[JimO]

California flu deaths jump from 42 to 74; Greater Bay Area reports 25

Flu deaths of Californians under 65 soared again in the latest reporting period and now total 74, according to state public health officials on Friday.

The latest figure represents a spike of 32 in addition to the 42 deaths announced by the state last week ? and an increase of six in the Greater Bay Area over the same period.

Flu-related fatalities around the region now total 25, including six deaths in Contra Costa County; five in Santa Clara County; four in Monterey County; three in Santa Cruz County; two each in San Benito, San Mateo, and Solano counties, and one in Marin County.

[JimO]

Lodi area and beyond facing a bad flu season

This year?s flu virus is hitting California hard, and San Joaquin County is no exception.

The county?s Public Health Services has received reports of three flu-related deaths among people younger than 65, and 12 others were admitted into intensive care units. Six outbreaks have been reported in long-term care facilities, the agency said in a press release.

[JimO]

Los Angeles County is reporting 60 new flu-related deaths in Week 2 for a total of 96 for the season.