UPDATE: 2012-2013 Flu Outbreak Has Killed 60 People in Minnesota
Influenza reports have drastically increased since reports last month. Here's where to get an influenza vaccine, how to recognize symptoms and what to know about treatment if you get sick.
UPDATE (9:10 p.m., Jan. 17, 2013): The influenza outbreak of 2012-13 has now killed 60 Minnesotans and hospitalized 1,842, according to information released Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH).
The department’s second weekly report on the flu outbreak more than doubles the number of reported deaths in the state; which totaled 27 last week.
The total number of deaths is now nearly as high as that of the swine flu outbreak of 2009-10, which killed 67 Minnesotans. The number of flu-related hospitalizations actually exceeds the total of 2009-10.
According to a Fox 9 news report, 88 percent of the deaths were patients age 65 or older, making up 53 of the 60 fatal cases this season. There were no deaths in the past week involving patients younger than 24.
The department’s latest report also showed that flu has struck a total of 107 skilled nursing facilities in the state, as well as 254 schools.
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ORIGINAL POST (4:42 p.m., Jan. 9, 2013): The flu season has been brutal so far, with many reported cases involving severe illnesses.
Since the start of the influenza season, 578 people have been hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed influenza, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Health reports for the 2012-2013 season. This is up from 30 people who were reportedly hospitalized this flu season in a report from last month.
In addition, four influenza-related deaths have been confirmed this season.
This time last year, flu cases were lower in Minnesota than they are now, according to data on Google's Flu Trends. (Hudson-specific data is not available on Flu Trends, but flu cases in the Twin Cities metro are in line with Minnesota and Wisconsin.)
Overall in Wisconsin and Minnesota, activity is categorized as "intense," while it was categorized as "low" at this time in 2012, according to Flu Trends.
If you're considering getting a flu shot, here are some places in Hudson that offer the vaccine:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers the following information:
- Who should get vaccinated
- When to get vaccinated
- Selecting a flu vaccine
- Symptoms, complications and severity
- Treatment if you get the flu
- How flu spreads
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In This article
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Hudson Hospital & Clinics
405 Stageline Rd, Hudson, WI -
Target
2401 Coulee Rd, Hudson, WI -
Walgreens
141 Carmichael Rd, Hudson, WI
Jennifer Belisle
11:06 am on Friday, January 18, 2013
No one in my family has had the flu shot, and no one has had the flu up to this point. We do eat healthy, organically grown food, take supplements and exercise regularly and rarely eat out. I would like to believe that those are the reasons we have avoided the flu. But I am always curious to find out other people's experiences. My parents both had the shot and got the flu. They are 78 and 80 years old. They could have easily been one of the statistics in the story. Scary.
Steph
12:29 pm on Friday, January 18, 2013
I agree, Jennifer. I lead a very similar life, and it's amazing how I never get sick. I think we need to be more productive with our health, instead of expecting these vaccines to take care of everything. People should also research what's in the vaccines, there's mercury and formaldehyde in the flu shot. No thank you.