San Diego County health officials on Thursday announced the region's first flu death of the season, a 55-year-old man from North San Diego County who was unvaccinated and had underlying health conditions.
The man died on Oct. 15 and had tested negative for COVID-19, according to the county. No other information about the man's illness were released.
The first death of the season -- which generally is in the fall and winter and peaks in December and February, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- comes as cases surge in San Diego County.
"The flu is here, and it's here early,” San Diego County Deputy Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser said.
Get San Diego local news, weather forecasts, sports and lifestyle stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC San Diego newsletters.
Last week's case count is up nearly 45% in a week with 856 cases reported in the week ending Oct. 22 compared with 591 cases the week prior. ER visits due to flu-like illness is up 6%.
There have been 2,528 flu cases since July 3, 2022, the county reported Thursday, which is more than half of the total confirmed flu cases for the 2021-2022 season, although the last two flu seasons were likely milder due to COVID-19 protocols. In the same time frame, there have been more than 88,200 COVID-19 cases and 131 deaths.
Local
Respiratory infections are also surging among children, health officials report. Rady Children's said last week more than half of the patients being treated in the ICU have some kind of respiratory illness and one-third of patients tested are positive for RSV.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is a contagious virus with symptoms that closely resemble the flu. Symptoms include runny nose, a decrease in appetite, coughing, sneezing, fever, wheezing. Right now, there is no specific medication for RSV.
Typical symptoms of the flu, Covid and the common cold all include coughing, sore throat and a runny nose. And because of that overlap, testing is the only way to be sure. Click here or the link below for a breakdown of symptoms.
