With influenza activity decreasing significantly across the state, Pennsylvania health officials have stopped updating a weekly report on flu activity for the season.
Flu activity is down over the past few weeks and now below epidemic levels, according to a report from the Pennsylvania Department of Health for the week ending March 28. A final total of 129,912 laboratory-confirmed influenza cases were reported this season; that’s up 1% from the week before.
Surveillance for the 2019-20 season started on Sept. 29.
The influenza report does not include covid-19 cases.
“This is the most cases on record in Pennsylvania during a flu season,” Health Department spokeswoman Brittany Lauffer said. “Although there were many cases, they were not as severe as the 2017-2018 flu season. There are many factors on why we saw more cases this season, including more individuals getting tested for flu-like symptoms, especially as the concern for covid-19 grew. It is also important to note that flu cases are largely under-reported each year because not everyone who has the flu gets tested for it.”
A total of 102 flu-associated deaths were reported, up by two from the week before. Both of the new deaths were people age 65 or older; that age group saw the majority of deaths for the season, with a total of 70.
Of the remaining deaths, 21 were age 50-to-64; 10 were 19-to-49; and one was 18 or younger.
The state does not specify the ages of those who died, reporting them only by four age groups. It does also does not disclose where they lived, citing patient privacy.
Hospitalizations for the season increased by 2% in the final week, to a total of 3,226.
Number of Pa. Influenza Cases by Week of First Report
In the seven-county Pittsburgh area — Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland — there was a total of 26,128 confirmed flu cases, up 1% from the week before.
Allegheny had the most flu cases of any county in the state throughout the season, with a final total of 13,694. Montgomery was second, with 9,650.
“Western Pennsylvania was immediately hit by the flu, receiving large case counts for several weeks,” Lauffer said. “Normally, we do see higher case counts in urban areas, especially in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. So while seeing many cases in the Pittsburgh region was not surprising, it was interesting that Western Pennsylvania was so much harder hit. We may never know why so many of our cases were reported there.”
Among the state’s 67 counties, Forest had the fewest cases, with just nine for the season.
State health officials said the influenza report will be updated when activity increases with the beginning of the next flu season.
“Although we are no longer reporting the data on our website due to low case counts, we do expect more cases to trickle in over the next few weeks, meaning people can still be affected by the flu,” Lauffer said. “The flu can continue into spring and summer months, which is why, year-round, people should be practicing preventative measures.”
