According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, El Paso had 24 pneumonia- and influenza-related deaths in the week of April 11 and 19 such deaths in the previous week — most of whom were 65 or older, the El Paso Times reported.
That’s up from 12 such deaths reported in the same period last year, and so far this year there have been 121 flu- and pneumonia-related deaths, more than double the 57 deaths reported at this point in 2010, the Times said.
City health officials said, however, that the number of reported cases have declined during the past several weeks, the paper said.
As of Tuesday, there were 19 confirmed flu cases reported so far in April, compared with 357 in January, 302 in February and 136 in March, officials told the Times.
“There is no indication about any outbreak or any emergency situation regarding influenza of any type,” Fernando Gonzalez, lead epidemiologist for El Paso’s Department of Public Health, told the Times. “During these first four months in El Paso, we have seen a big number of influenza cases, which means the number of deaths has increased as well.”
Officials said that the increase in El Paso’s flu cases has nothing to do with an apparent outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus across the border in Juarez, the Times said.
So far, seven people infected with the H1N1 virus have died in Juarez since March 20, and 83 people have contracted the virus since March 22, when the H1N1 outbreak was discovered in Juarez and Chihuahua, officials said in a statement.
Flu season usually lasts from October to March, but Gonzalez told the Times that it’s never too late to get flu shots.
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