NC flu deaths jump to 52 as hospital visits soar to highest numbers of season, NCDHHS reports

Ashley Anderson
·2 min read
26

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — From the sneezing and coughing you’ve likely heard around your workplace or home, it should come as no surprise that North Carolina is in the throes of flu season. Along with it, there are a slew of other respiratory illnesses seeing a rise in the state, including COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.

The latest update from the NC Department of Health and Human Services shows the number of hospital admissions and emergency room visits for the flu are up across the state to the highest levels seen since at least December 2022.

EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT VISITS FOR RESPIRATORY VIRUSES

Graph updated on Jan. 3, 2023 shows the percentage of NC emergency department visits with symptoms or a diagnosis of a particular respiratory virus. (NCDHHS)
Graph updated on Jan. 3, 2023 shows the percentage of NC emergency department visits with symptoms or a diagnosis of a particular respiratory virus. (NCDHHS)

In the last week of respiratory illness data for the week of Dec. 24-30, 22.2% of all emergency room visits had symptoms of a respiratory virus. This represents an increase of 0.5% from the week prior, the NCDHSS said.

As for total counts of hospital admissions for the flu and COVID—1,055 of NC’s hospital admissions in the past week were attributed to the flu while 923 were due to COVID. This is a jump of a few hundred for each virus as the prior week’s flu and COVID admissions were 722 and 710, respectively.

HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS

A graph updated Jan. 3 shows weekly hospital admissions for patients with COVID-19 in blue and for the flu in green. (NCDHHS)
A graph updated Jan. 3 shows weekly hospital admissions for patients with COVID-19 in blue and for the flu in green. (NCDHHS)

FLU DEATHS IN NORTH CAROLINA

The NCDHHS is also monitoring the amount of flu deaths so far this season. As of December 23, a total of 30 flu deaths in NC had been reported.

As of the latest update, that total number has jumped to 52 flu deaths in North Carolina. According to NCDHHS, five of those deaths have been in pediatric patients.

In looking at the new data, it’s important to note not all 22 deaths added to the total stemmed from last week.

Of the newly reported 22 deaths, 11 took place during the week of Dec. 24-30. The remaining 11 were added to previous weeks—one was added to the week ending Dec. 19, five were added to the week ending on Dec. 16 and an additional five were added to the week ending on Dec. 23.

For more information and data tracking, visit the NDHHS respiratory virus dashboard.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS17.com.