Community Corner
UPDATE: Napa Announces 2 More Flu Hospitalizations
Total hospitalizations: 21 in various Napa County hospitals.
UPDATE: Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014
Two more people were hospitalized with flu, Napa County officials reported today.
A man over age 65 and a woman between the ages of 60 to 65 were hospitalized, but not in intensive care units, said Elizabeth Emmett, Napa County spokeswoman.Emmett said there are now 21 people hospitalized with flu, including 11 in intensive care, nine in regular non-ICU hospital rooms and one pregnant woman in a regular hospital room.
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One person has died from flu in Napa County.
Emmett said today’s new cases reflect information since our last update on Friday, Jan. 17.
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Public Health urges residents to get vaccinated and follow proper hygiene and to stay home if ill, Emmett said.
Much more information on symptoms, when to seek medical aid and related details are available at countyofnapa.org/PublicHealth/SeasonalFlu .
UPDATE: Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014
Three more people hospitalized for flu, Napa County announced Thursday. The total hospitalizations at various hospitals is now 18 patients.
Of those, 11 are n ICU, 6 non-ICU, 1 non-ICU and pregnant.
One person has died, as announced Wednesday.
BY PATCH STAFF AND BAY CITY NEWS SERVICE
An 84-year-old man with multiple medical issues was confirmed today as Napa County's first death from the flu.
working on the assumption that it is probably H1N1, said Elizabeth Emmett, Napa County's public information officer.
Emmett said Napa County also logged five new hospitalizations for flu. That brings the total to 15 in Napa County hospitals; 10 of those in the ICU.
Elsewhere around the Bay, two other new flu deaths were confirmed in Contra Costa County and a third death in Sonoma Cojnty. Besides the Napa fatality, that brings the total Bay Area deaths to 21.
That figure is probably low, however, because the California Department of Health only requires hospitals to report deaths of patients under 65 years old, according to Bay City News Service.
Contra Costa County reported its second flu death today, a 48-year-old man who died in December, but whose death was confirmed on Tuesday as being linked to the H1N1 strain.
Sonoma County also reported a third flu death today of a 61-year-old woman with preexisting medical issues. The county reported the death of a 54-year on Tuesday and a 23-year-old male earlier this season.
Sonoma County has had a total of 12 severe cases of influenza since the season began, meaning patients were hospitalized in intensive care or died, according to Dr. Karen Holbrook, the county's interim health officer.Solano County reported its first death of the season on Tuesday after a Vallejo man in his 40s was confirmed as infected with the H1N1 strain.
The man had chronic medical conditions before he fell ill, according to Solano County officials.
There have also been 10 people hospitalized in Solano County with flu, according to health officials.
San Mateo County reported its second and third flu-related deaths
this week on Monday and Tuesday, county health system spokeswoman Robyn Thaw said.
Two of the three patients that died had underlying medical conditions and at least two of the cases were confirmed as H1N1, Thaw said.
Another eight people in the county have been hospitalized due to the flu, Thaw said.
In additional to those fatalities, there have been four deaths in Santa Clara County, three in Alameda County and two in Marin County. There
has been one death each in Santa Cruz and San Francisco counties.
Outside the Bay Area, Monterey County also reported two deaths
linked to swine flu today, both of them in adults under the age of 65.
Another six Monterey County residents under the age of 65 have been sick enough to require hospitalization in intensive care due to influenza, officials said today.
Health officials are urging everyone ages 6 months and older to get vaccinated. Those considered at highest risk are those 65 and older, children less than two years old, pregnant women and those with medical conditions like asthma, heart disease and weakened immune systems.
The peak of flu season is between January and March, and the vaccine takes about two weeks after inoculation to be fully effective, according to health officials.
Click here for Napa County flu shot information.
Click here for CDC flu symptoms guidelines.
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