Flu Death Toll Rises But Influenza Season May be Ending

The flu season continues to claim more lives, most notably 202 recorded deaths in California and 33 deaths in Oklahoma. These numbers bring the influenza associated death toll within reach of last year's peak, which reached nearly 10 percent of all total deaths within that week according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) -- and the season isn't even finished. We won't know how severe this season's strain truly was compared to previous seasons until it has fully ended.

The good news is that while these numbers are relatively high, they shouldn't climb much higher. According to CDC data, the influenza infection rate has already begun to trend downwards, indicating the worst of it is over.

Still, this news should only permit a small sigh of relief. Influenza is notoriously unpredictable and may spike shortly much later in the year, as it has done in the past, according to CDC records. The CDC urges that those who have not been vaccinated should be, particularly adults 40 to 65 years of age.

According to the California Department of Public Health, the large majority of the 202 recorded deaths  consisted of older adults ranging from 40 to 65 years old who had failed to get vaccinated. Often, influenza victims don't die from the flu alone. Instead, it attacks hosts already weakened by other serious illnesses. This is why seniors in particular, with their again immune systems, are most susceptible to the virus.

In almost all recorded deaths, the perpetrating flu was the H1N1 virus commonly referred to as "swine flu". Influenza commonly mutates first in pigs before spreading to humans, as pigs have immune systems remarkably similar to our own.

People can avoid getting the flu by practicing healthy habits such as frequent hand washing and avoiding  touching their eyes, nose, or mouth, where germs most commonly infect. Flu.gov also suggests that healthy individuals take antiviral drugs that can be prescribed by a doctor. These drugs have been proven to be 70 to 90 percent effective at preventing viral infections. Of course, the safest route to prevent an influenza infection is to get vaccinated at your local health care provider.

The CDC weekly Influenza report for February 1 can be found here.