Washington State Influenza 2014-2015 - 120 fatalities

[Ronan Kelly]

Grant County woman dies from influenza complications; Health Department pushes flu shots
Posted: Jan 07, 2015 6:11 PM EST
Updated: Jan 07, 2015 6:55 PM EST
by Alyssa Schmidt, Technical Media Producer

SPOKANE, Wash. -
It's never to late to get the flu vaccine, according to the The Grant County Health District.

The GCHD was notified this week that a Grant County woman has died from influenza complications. ?We are deeply saddened to learn of this loss,? states Dr. Alexander Brzezny, Grant County Health Officer. He adds, ?Since the beginning of December, there has been a significant increase in influenza cases in all age groups in Grant County.?

According to the Washington State Department of Health, there have been 16 other Washington State residents who have died this flu season. During the 2013-2014 flu season, 79 Washington State residents died due to flu complications.
...
http://www.abcfoxmontana.com/story/...plications-health-department-pushes-flu-shots

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Flu death toll rising in Washington; 5-year-old Pierce County girl among fatalities
POSTED 5:08 PM, JANUARY 12, 2015, BY STEVE KIGGINS, UPDATED AT 06:37PM, JANUARY 12, 2015

TACOMA ? The Pierce County medical examiner has confirmed that a 5-year-old girl died from the flu.

The child?s mother simply thought her daughter had a bad cold but died just days later.

So far, 24 people have died from the flu across the state; ten people have died from the flu in Pierce County.
...
http://q13fox.com/2015/01/12/flu-death-toll-rising-in-washington/

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Washington State
Influenza Update
Week 7: Feb 15, 2015-Feb 21, 2015 Washington State Department of Health, Communicable Disease Epidemiology
http://www.doh.wa.gov/Portals/1/Documents/5100/420-100-FluUpdate.pdf

Please note all data are preliminary and may change as data are updated.

State Summary: Flu activity continues to decrease, but remains elevated.
 A total of 120 laboratory-confirmed influenza deaths have been reported to date this season in Washington,
including one pediatric death. Most deaths have occurred in people with pre-existing health conditions.
 Influenza is characterized as regional in Washington, which means that influenza is circulating in at least two,
but less than half, of the regions in the state.
 During week 7, 26 out of 461 specimens (5.6%) tested by the World Health Organization/National Respiratory
and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (WHO/NREVSS) collaborating laboratories in Washington were positive
for influenza. Ten specimens were positive for influenza A (H3), one was positive for influenza A (2009 H1N1),
5 were positive for influenza A (subtyping not performed) and 10 were positive for influenza B.
 During week 7, the proportion of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) was 1.1 percent, equal to the
baseline of 1.1 percent.

...
http://www.doh.wa.gov/Portals/1/Documents/5100/420-100-FluUpdate.pdf

 

[Emily]

This didn't officially get counted as a flu death, but H3N2 was strongly suspected. The pattern was very similar to the death in Tacoma.

http://www.whidbeynewstimes.com/news/363401911.html

[h=1]Oak Harbor family remembers how 3-year-old brightened the world around her[/h]

• by DEBRA VAUGHN, Whidbey News-Times Staff reporter
• Dec 26, 2015 at 5:00AM

...

December of last year, Makayleigh got sick. It didn?t last long. It seemed like a normal cold. Her mother gave her liquids, cared for and the next day she seemed fine.
The day before it happened, she was bouncing on beds and playing.
The next day, things seemed fine. Makayleigh wanted to watch a movie that evening. Her parents popped one in. She fell asleep and her mother carried her to bed.
Early the next morning, her father came in to check on her, as was his habit before heading to work. Something was wrong. The little girl was slumped over, stiff. Her father, panicked, pulled her from bed and brought her to the living room to perform CPR.
Last year, the Northwest was in the grip of influenza. A day later, a little girl in Tacoma died of a H3N2 strain of the flu. That season, she wouldn?t be the last.
The Island County coroner was never able to confirm Makayleigh was killed by the flu. The family was told the virus dies with the host. But there were signs that?s what took her away. An enlarged spleen. A rash. The coroner surmised the virus attacked the girl?s body internally, although she seemed OK. She died one day before her fourth birthday.
Publicly, her death went un-noted among the tally of flu deaths. Privately, it didn?t matter. The Hills lost their baby girl. This past year, they?ve struggled to move forward...