The flu has caused 21 deaths in Connecticut, including six last week, hospitalizations have increased dramatically and health officials expect to continue to see illness from the flu continue for the next four to six weeks.
State records, which documented the season through Jan. 13, had put the number of flu hospitalizations at 615 people in Connecticut, but that number has increased in days. In just the last week, 50 people have been hospitalized at Yale-New Haven Hospital, officials said Friday morning.
"This season's been a bad one and it's just really starting over the last few weeks now, so we're expecting it to continue to be bad and likely continue to see a lot of flu here in New Haven over the next four to six weeks or so," Richard Martinello, the director of infection control at Yale New Haven Hospital, said.
This briefing comes after a 10-year-old in New Canaan died after getting the flu, which led to pneumonia.
Fourteen of the people who have died had Type A and seven had Type B.
Of the flu-related deaths, 17 patients were older than 65 years old, two were between 50 and 64 years old, one was between 25 and 49 years old and one was between 5 and 17 years old.
Health officials are recommending that anyone 6 months old and older who has not gotten a flu vaccine go get one as soon as possible.
Local
Anyone who is ill and suspects he or she has the flu is advised to call a doctor.
