US sees uptick in flu cases following three Washington flu-related deaths

This year’s strain of the flu has already killed three people in Washington, and it’s making people sick all across the country.

Emergency rooms across the nation are reporting huge increases in flu cases. Some health departments, especially along the East Coast and southeast, are reporting 20 and 30 percent increases in patients and cases.

Dr. Kris Eheresmann, a physician in Minnesota says three people have also died from the flu this season in her state.

“Individuals who develop influenza are also then in a position where they may develop a secondary infection,” explained Eheresmann. “So, pneumonia is also common following an influenza infection.”

Snohomish County has seen a big increase in cases this year. The department of health says 52 people have gone to the hospital for the flu so far. That’s 48 more than at this time last year.

Flu activity has increased significantly in recent weeks. Health officials are urging people to get their vaccines now, before they get sick.

While vaccines are the best way to prevent the flu, some scientists are working on predicting flu outbreaks, increasingly including weather data in their attempts to predict disease outbreaks.

In one recent study, two scientists reported they could predict, more than seven weeks in advance, when flu season was going to peak in New York City. Theirs was just the latest in a growing wave of computer models that factor in rainfall, temperature or other weather conditions to forecast disease.

Health officials are excited by this kind of work and the idea that it could be used to fine-tune vaccination campaigns or other disease prevention efforts.

The Associated Press and KIRO Radio reporter Chris Sullivan contributed to this report.