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Flu Getting bad in the U.S. 2019

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    Posted: December 29 2018 at 11:20am
It has been very difficult getting information as to how bad the flu is in the U.S. They no longer count death in adult or consider flu are disease doctors are required to report.

As we plunge into yet another Arctic Vortex (I will be posting on this) the flu is bad



You will notice it is widespread in California, New York, and Florida - as well as several other states. 32 out of 54 jurisdiction reported widespread activity.

The flu in the U.S. - it is back for 2019 and the new virus flooding in with immigrants. Influenza A(H3) viruses predominated in the southeastern United States (HHS Region 4). The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza viruses in clinical laboratories is increasing.

The media is more concerned with what boots Michelle Obama is wearing than the real and present danger of another Pandemic and one is coming - not if ... but when.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote EdwinSm, Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 29 2018 at 10:45pm
However, it always gets worse at this time of the year following a seasonal pattern. So far it is not looking worse than 'average' (which still implies a lot of deaths )

This chart is the one below the chart posted above in CDC weekly report

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Medclinician Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 05 2019 at 7:48am
Originally posted by EdwinSm, EdwinSm, wrote:

However, it always gets worse at this time of the year following a seasonal pattern. So far it is not looking worse than 'average' (which still implies a lot of deaths )

This chart is the one below the chart posted above in CDC weekly report



It is above the baseline for the past few years and in one week the number of states it is widespread in has doubled. There is no coverage at all of this in the mainstream media, and I am cranking up my CWN on Facebook once more as well. We have never been less prepared and the media is so caught up in drama and pure fiction to be as source to know what is going on. I will post this on Facebook and know a number of people who are very very ill. They do not even count the deaths anymore or ask doctor's to report. We might as well be in the Dark Ages and it is likely the current vaccine is not effective at all since the strain spreading has mutated.

According to this week’s FluView report, seasonal influenza activity continues to increase. The number of states experiencing high influenza activity went from nine states plus New York City during the last reporting week to 19 states plus New York City and the number of states reporting widespread geographic flu activity went from 11 states to 24 states. CDC also reported another two flu-associated pediatric deaths. Nationally, the proportion of people seeing their health care provider for influenza-like-illness (ILI) has been at or above the baseline for six consecutive weeks.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote arirish Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 11 2019 at 11:09pm
Thanks for the update Med! I saw on the news tonight that flu is now wide spread in over 30 states!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Medclinician Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 13 2019 at 7:39am
Originally posted by arirish arirish wrote:

Thanks for the update Med! I saw on the news tonight that flu is now wide spread in over 30 states!


Yes it's bad and the mainstream media is so caught up in socialist nutcases - which I will post about later - that there is no news on the a spreading epidemic which they refuse to call an epidemic. If over 50% of those tested have it - do that math -it's an epidemic.

The geographic spread of influenza in 30 states was reported as widespread; Puerto Rico and 17 states reported regional activity; two states reported local activity; the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and one state reported sporadic activity; and Guam did not report.

Search monitoring and tracking has reached an all time high and most of the engines I have used - especially Copernicus Agent you need a clearance to run or to be in the Intel loop.

How bad is it... in reference to the thread topic - a lot worse. Doctors don't report it and we see a report of like 3 child fatalities. Give me a break. With it widespread 30 states and over 3 different strains, people are dying from this, especially old people (over 65). To know most of the people who have it that die are over 65, they must have internal numbers, but we don't have them.

      Week 1      Data Cumulative since
September 30, 2018 (Week 40)
In the last week ending Jan 5 week one of the 2019
United States Flu Seas
No. of specimens tested      833      
No. of positive specimens*   444
    
Total since official flu season started
No. of specimens tested      18,125
No. of positive specimens*    5,131
It has gotten a lot worse.

Positive specimens by type/subtype              
        Influenza A      440 (99.1%)      4,918 (95.8%)
            (H1N1)pdm09      322 (82.6%)      3,772 (81.4%)
             H3N2      68 (17.4%)      864 (18.6%)
             Subtyping not performed      50      282
       Influenza B      4 (0.9%)      213 (4.2%)
            Yamagata lineage      0 (0%)      97 (68.8%)
            Victoria lineage      2 (100%)      68 (41.2%)
            Lineage not performed      

According to these figures 444 positives out of 833 specimens 53.3% of those tested had it.

That is a lot of flu and we can safely assume that is the tip of the iceberg. I will be posting more on Facebook as well as about the spread of Ebola. A pandemic is coming - not if - but when.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Technophobe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 13 2019 at 9:27am

Nasty! A is more easily capable of turning nasty. I notice about twice as many A strain cases than B. - Assuming I read your figures correctly.

It is still not a patch on last year's horror though.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Medclinician Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 28 2019 at 6:22am
Originally posted by Technophobe Technophobe wrote:


Nasty! A is more easily capable of turning nasty. I notice about twice as many A strain cases than B. - Assuming I read your figures correctly.

It is still not a patch on last year's horror though.


It was a patch - it is becoming a 4x4 bandage and we have a raging polar vortex with -60 degree temps - maybe -40 in Chicago.

There is almost nothing on the news but I am trying to match up the strains with our current vaccine. Obviously it is not working. The American public seems so obsessed (are they flashing subliminal messages in the news?) over what might happen in 2 years they are oblivious to what is happening now. And how does it it look as of last map released.

Not good.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Medclinician Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 02 2019 at 3:32am
It is getting worse and still there is no coverage of a Flu epidemic in the United States and none that I can find on what is happening with this in U.K. or Europe.

It is really bad.

According to this week’s FluView report, seasonal influenza activity rose again over last week, with the number of states reporting widespread activity increasing from 36 to 45. Deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) is at the national threshold this week. P&I has been at or above the epidemic threshold for three consecutive weeks so far this season.

The media are oblivious to the epidemic and there is very little information on how effective the current vaccine is.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DDDDDDDDDDD Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 02 2019 at 5:34am
I stop cooperating with you because you delete all my letters
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Technophobe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 02 2019 at 5:35am
Bye, Rishat!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jacksdad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 02 2019 at 6:34am
Again, I picked a pretty good place to live, flu-wise that is. Don't even know of anyone that has it.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Technophobe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 02 2019 at 12:48pm
Flu light; typhus heavy, JD!

‘Medieval disease caused by trash’: Typhus spreads to LA City Hall
Published time: 2 Feb, 2019 02:58 Edited time: 2 Feb, 2019 08:55

The epidemic of typhus in Los Angeles, California has spread from homeless encampments to City Hall. Local authorities say they are trying to address the problem, but critics point to mountains of trash lining the streets.

Deputy City Attorney Liz Greenwood was diagnosed with typhus in November, after complaining about having headaches and high fever, she told KNBC on Friday.

“It felt like somebody was driving railroad stakes through my eyes and out the back of my neck,” Greenwood said. “Who gets typhus? It's a medieval disease that's caused by trash."

Last year the Los Angeles County registered a record 124 cases of typhus, KNBC reported citing the California Department of Public Health. One of them was Greenwood, who believes she caught the disease from fleas that made their way into her office.

“There are rats in City Hall and City Hall East,” she said. “There are enormous rats and their tails are as long as their bodies.”

Rats often carry fleas, and tend to live in garbage piles that have accumulated across Los Angeles as the city’s homeless population continues to grow uncontrollably.

Back in October, LA Mayor Eric Garcetti vowed to clean up the trash piles as part of an effort to curb the spread of typhus, and allocated millions of dollars for sanitation of streets in the Skid Row neighborhood.

“You can't solve it (the typhus epidemic) until you hit the cause,” Estela Lopez of the Downtown Industrial Business Improvement District told KNBC, “and the cause of it is that you still have these mountains of trash.”

The city has already fumigated several police offices, but the City Hall is apparently still on the to-do list.

“This work in busy and highly populated public buildings is executed carefully to protect workers and visitors, and the scheduling of extermination activities takes these factors into consideration,” city spokeswoman Vicki Curry said in a statement.

California is the most populous US state, and has a gross domestic product estimated at $2.9 trillion -- ranking as the fifth-largest economy in the world, right behind Germany. Los Angeles County has over 10 million inhabitants as of 2017.

[I blame Trump! I don't imagine that the federal shutdown helped the local authorities clear the trash away and the financial situation of the poorest has become somewhat worse during his term.]

Source and various tweets:   https://www.rt.com/usa/450379-los-angeles-typhus-epidemic/
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Technophobe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 03 2019 at 4:12pm
[On thje other hand, the current flu situation seems to be astonishingly light: (As a comparison last flu season saw 185 peadiatric deaths and this season has seen 24 so far.)* So, widespread but not anywhere as severe as last year.]

CDC: Flu widespread in 45 states, causing deaths of 24 children
Doctors advise patients to get more information on flu symptoms

By Destiny McKeiver - Multi-media journalist, Roxy Tyler - Web producer
Posted: 5:34 PM, February 03, 2019
Updated: 5:57 PM, February 03, 2019


JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the flu continues to be widespread in 45 states and has caused 24 pediatric deaths.

Triage nurses said a contributing factor is that people don't understand the difference between a common cold and influenza.
More Headlines
Both are respiratory illnesses. However, they are caused by different viruses.

Flu symptoms are more persistent than cold symptoms, according to nurses in Jacksonville.

Patients with a cold are likely to have a runny nose or a sore throat, but flu symptoms are more aggressive and usually include a headache, body aches and fever.

As of last week, the CDC reported the following information on the impact of the flu on people across the nation:

•    10,100,000 – 11,700,000 had symptomatic flu illnesses
•    4,700,000 – 5,600,000 medical visits due to the flu
•    118,000 – 141,000 people hospitalized with flu


Medical Director for the TriageLogic Group and Continuwell Dr. Ravi Raheja said the biggest struggle with beating the flu is the confusion of symptoms with the common cold.

"If you suspect that you have the flu, you shouldn’t run into your doctor's office because you may spread the disease," Raheja said. "The first thing (you should do) is talk with a triage nurse or a health professional that can help you determine over the phone whether you really have a cold or flu."

Flu shots and frequent hand - washing are good ways to protect yourself from contracting influenza.

Click here for more professional advice on getting through cold and flu season.

Source:   https://www.news4jax.com/health/cdc-flu-widespread-in-48-states-causing-deaths-of-24-children

*Statistics source: CDC:   https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/flu-season-2017-2018.htm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Medclinician Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 11 2019 at 6:24am
Flu Getting Bad in the U.S. 2019

The situation is bad, perhaps ever worse than the reporting of it. Flu is all over the U.S. as we enter week 5 and I know several people who have nearly died from it and been in the hospital. The media is completely ineffective in covering the situation and it isn't that this is not as bad as last year - they just don't count the deaths as flu and more than a few children are dying for this. It is like telling a person who has lost a leg - well last year we had a woman in here who lost both legs or someone who had someone close to them freeze to death - well up in Alaska people freeze to death all the time. This year it is a lot colder and nastier and doctors don't even report the flu as flu. The Polar Vortex sweeping through the U.S. is not helping.

According to this week’s FluView report, seasonal influenza activity remains elevated overall and increased again over last week’s report. Influenza-like-illness (ILI) is 4.3%, which is above the national baseline of 2.2% and the highest it has been so far this flu season.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Medclinician Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 23 2019 at 8:59am
Still there is little in the mainstream media about this serious flu outbreak in the U.S. It is epidemic more than double the seasonal norm.

Influenza-like Illness Surveillance:The proportion of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) increased to 5.1%, which is above the national baseline of 2.2%. All 10 regions reported ILI at or above their region-specific baseline level.

    ILI State Activity Indicator Map: New York City and 30 states experienced high ILI activity; the District of Columbia and 11 states experienced moderate ILI activity; six states experienced low ILI activity; the U.S. Virgin Islands and three states experienced minimal ILI activity; and Puerto Rico had insufficient data.

Geographic Spread of Influenza: The geographic spread of influenza in Puerto Rico and 48 states was reported as widespread; one state reported regional activity; the District of Columbia reported local activity; the U.S. Virgin Islands and one state reported sporadic activity; and Guam did not report.

comment: I really does seem that I am one of the few people on the network who are more concerned with our nation's health than a media which is not informative on the areas we need to know the most about.

Medclinician - predicted the 2009 Pandemic and another triple virus one to come - in the next 5 years - "not if, but when".


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jacksdad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 23 2019 at 2:16pm
This is surprising. We've had a few flu fatalities here in San Diego (including the recent death of a 14 year old girl - although there was an unspecified underlying illness apparently) but by and large, we're not seeing any major activity whatsoever. Is it really that bad elsewhere? Anybody else noticing a dramatic uptick? Looking at the maps Med has put up, it's clearly widespread, but I'm not seeing serious illness - just a few people with the sniffles. A widespread mild flu doesn't seem too worrying, to be honest (although we all know how fast that can change with a bug like Type A influenza).





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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Technophobe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 23 2019 at 2:49pm

February 22nd, 2019
7 min read
Article by
Don Ward Hackett

CDC & WHO Flu News for February 22, 2019

41 influenza-associated pediatric deaths have been confirmed during 2019
bacteria

February 22nd, 2019 – According to new reports from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the World Health Organization (WHO), the current flu season is far from over.

Specifically, the CDC estimated the October 2018 through February 16, 2019 flu season’s impact as follows:

    17,700,000 – 20,400,000 symptomatic illnesses
    8,200,000 – 9,600,000 medical visits
    214,000 – 256,000 hospitalizations
    13,610 - 22,300 flu-related deaths

And most, unfortunately, a total of 41 influenza-associated pediatric deaths have been reported to the CDC during the 2018-2019 season. Seven of these pediatric deaths were reported during week #7.

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Additionally, the CDC reported on February 14, 2019, the interim estimates for the 2018–19 flu season Vaccine Effectiveness (VE) for all ages against medically attended respiratory virus infection caused by A(H1N1) virus infection, was 46 percent.

And, the VE against illness due to influenza A(H3N2) was 44 percent.

Separately, the CDC reported the key influenza indicators for the week ending February 16, 2019, are as follows:

    While influenza A(H1N1) viruses predominated in most areas of the country, influenza A(H3) viruses have predominated in HHS Region 4 and accounted for 47% of subtyped influenza A viruses detected nationally during week 7.
    During the most recent three weeks, influenza A(H3) viruses were reported more frequently than influenza A(H1N1) viruses in HHS Regions 6 and 7 and influenza A(H1N1) and influenza A(H3) viruses were reported in approximately equal numbers in HHS Region 2.
    The majority of influenza viruses characterized antigenically are similar to the cell-grown reference viruses representing the 2018–2019 Northern Hemisphere influenza vaccine viruses.
    The vast majority of influenza viruses tested (>99%) show susceptibility to oseltamivir and peramivir. All influenza viruses tested showed susceptibility to zanamivir.
    The proportion of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) increased to 5.1%, which is above the national baseline of 2.2%. All 10 regions reported ILI at or above their region-specific baseline level.
    New York City and 30 states experienced high ILI activity; the District of Columbia and 11 states experienced moderate ILI activity; six states experienced low ILI activity; the U.S. Virgin Islands and three states experienced minimal ILI activity, and Puerto Rico had insufficient data.
    The geographic spread of influenza in Puerto Rico and 48 states was reported as widespread; one state reported regional activity; the District of Columbia reported local activity; the U.S. Virgin Islands and one state reported sporadic activity, and Guam did not report.
    A cumulative rate of 27.4 laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated hospitalizations per 100,000 population was reported. The highest hospitalization rate is among adults 65 years and older (75.6 hospitalizations per 100,000 population).
    The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) was below the system-specific epidemic threshold in the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Mortality Surveillance System.

Around The World:

The World Health Organization (WHO) / Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) conclude the 2018-19 influenza season in Europe was characterized by both influenza A virus subtypes.

In Europe, there is co-circulation in some countries, with others reporting dominance of either A(H1N1) or A(H3N2) viruses.

And, Europe’s data shows that protection against the influenza A virus has ranged between 32 percent and 43 percent across all patients seen at clinics and hospitals; and was 59 percent in groups targeted for vaccination, according to findings from 6 European studies published on February 21, 2019.   

The PAHO published the following updates on February 19, 2019:

    Caribbean: Influenza virus activity slightly increased in some countries and lower RSV activity was reported throughout most of the sub-region. In Jamaica, influenza detection increased with influenza A circulating. ILI consultations increased in some French Territories.
    Central America: Epidemiological indicators remained at moderate levels and influenza activity was low throughout the sub-region with influenza A(H1N1) and B co-circulating. In Guatemala, influenza activity continues to increase with influenza A (H1N1) and influenza A (H3N2) co-circulating. Overall, RSV activity decreased; while in Costa Rica and Guatemala, RSV circulation continued elevated.
    Andean Region: Continue influenza activity decreasing in the sub-region with influenza A(H3N2) predominance and moderate SARI activity. In Peru ARI and pneumonia cases increased among those aged less than 5 years.
    Brazil and Southern Cone: Influenza activity was low throughout the sub-region with influenza A predominance. Brazil and Chile, influenza-associated SARI and ILI cases decreased associated with influenza A (H1N1) detections. RSV activity remained low in the subregion.

Additionally, the WHO's flu vaccine advisory group recommended on February 20, 2019, to include the Northern Hemisphere's 2019-20 vaccines and recommended changing the 2009 H1N1 component, but decided to wait one month before finalizing a recommendation on the H3N2 strain.

The WHO recommendations for the 2019-2020 Northern Hemisphere flu season are as follows:

    It is recommended that quadrivalent vaccines contain the following: - an A/Brisbane/02/2018 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus; - an A(H3N2) virus to be announced on 21 March 2019*; - a B/Colorado/06/2017-like virus (B/Victoria/2/87 lineage); and - a B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus (B/Yamagata/16/88 lineage).
    It is recommended that the influenza B virus component of trivalent vaccines be a B/Colorado/06/2017-like virus of the B/Victoria/2/87-lineage.
    In light of recent changes in the proportions of genetically and antigenically diverse A(H3N2) viruses, the recommendation for the A(H3N2) component has been postponed.

The WHO’s lists of egg or cell culture-propagated candidate vaccine viruses (CVVs) suitable for use in human vaccine production are available on the WHO website.

Both the CDC and WHO continue to recommend vaccinations while influenza viruses are circulating the world.

In the USA, antiviral medications and various flu vaccines are available in most pharmacies.

The CDC Vaccine Price List provides private sector vaccine prices for general information. And, flu vaccine discounts can be found here.       

Vaccines, like any medicine, can have side effects. Vaccine patients are encouraged to report negative side effects of vaccines to the CDC.

Source:   https://www.precisionvaccinations.com/41-influenza-associated-pediatric-deaths-have-been-confirmed-during-2019

[I believe, compared to last year (and many others) this is a dramatically mild flu season. A good vaccine match and a larger uptake have helped too. For comparison:   ]As of October 27, 2018, a total of 185 pediatric deaths had been reported to CDC during the 2017-2018 season. This number exceeds the previously highest number of flu-associated deaths in children reported during a regular flu season (171 during the 2012-2013 season). Approximately 80% of these deaths occurred in children who had not received a flu vaccination this season. For the most recent data and more information visit FluView: Influenza-Associated Pediatric Mortality.https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/flu-season-2017-2018.htm

So, it has heated up slightly and every single death is a tragedy, but this is hardly a severe year by any standards.

I can't speak for England OR Wales, but here in Scotland there does not seem to be ANY flu at all - scarily unusual in the flu capital of The UK.]

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jacksdad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 23 2019 at 2:57pm
Thanks, Techno - thought it was just us that were escaping the worst of it. I read with interest that "Approximately 80% of these (pediatric) deaths occurred in children who had not received a flu vaccination this season". Get your flu shot, people. It's not rocket science.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote EdwinSm, Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 23 2019 at 11:13pm
Med, I am wondering if you are looking at the wrong chart to get the impression of how bad the flu season is. Yes, I agree with you that CDC is saying that it is very "widespread", but further down the page of their weekly report {Link to CDC} you will see this graph showing that it is a "normal" flu season.



As it looks like a "normal" flu season regarding estimated deaths I don't see that as a great news item. Given the number of deaths maybe it should be a big item every year, but then road traffic deaths are not much of a news item either!


ps. the pediatric death total so far stands at 41, but in the previous season it was 185. By this measure it also seems to have been a milder flu season than last year.
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