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A slight flu reprieve in the Lehigh Valley - but still bad

Morning Call - 1/17/2019

Jan. 17--The Pennsylvania Department of Health is saying there has been a slight reprieve in flu activity throughout the state over the last two weeks -- even if one look around the office feels like evidence to the contrary.

Indeed, the numbers are still above epidemic thresholds and warrant a "widespread" classification, with activity most severe in northeast and southeast Pennsylvania. But bar graphs comparing the second week of the year to the turn of 2018 show a little relief.

The number of laboratory-confirmed flu cases since the beginning of October is now at 12,062 as of the week ending Jan. 12. The week before, it stood at 9,268.

This might sound like a large difference, but a breakdown of weekly figures of flu cases shows it's a smaller difference than previous weeks.

There has been a slight decrease in the percentage of outpatient visits associated with flu-like illness -- the first decrease in this percentage since the beginning of flu season -- but this, too, is still above epidemic proportions, at about 2.5 percent.

However, there are significantly more influenza-related deaths to report: 15 for the whole season, up from 10 reported through Jan. 5. The state has not reported any children dying from the flu.

Every Lehigh Valley county saw increases in flu cases. Here's the breakdown:

Berks: 195 more cases (448 total)

Bucks: 104 more cases (412 total)

Lackawanna: 95 more cases (504 total)

Lehigh: 135 more cases (737 total)

Luzerne: 165 more cases (1,323 total)

Monroe: 66 more cases (334 total)

Montgomery: 221 more cases (662 total)

Northampton: 180 more cases (767 total)

Schuylkill: 42 more cases (221 total)

kdwyer@mcall.com

610-820-6554

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