The Pennsylvania Department of Health says that there have been increases in the number of flu cases both across the state and in Indiana County, but again, the pace is slowing down.
According to statistics released yesterday, the number of flu cases in Pennsylvania as of January 21st was 174,964, a jump of only 2,405 cases over the last week. Last week, the state saw an increase of over 4000 cases. 170,754 of those cases were classified as Type A flu, while 4001 were classified as Type B, and 209 were classified as Unknown.
Indiana County’s flu totals went up by 11 over the week to 993 cases for the flu season so far, with 910 of them type A and the rest Type B.
The Department of Health said that flu activity decreased during the past few weeks, but they say it may be too soon to say if flu season is over, as there may be another uptick in activity that could cause a small surge late in the season that was seen over the last few years. The percentage of emergency department visits related to influenza was classified as “moderate” and a total of 84 flu-related deaths were reported in Pennsylvania.
These numbers represent the number of laboratory-confirmed flu cases. There may be more but are not included in the data as people either treat themselves or a doctor diagnoses the symptoms and doesn’t administer a full flu test.
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