South Carolina reports its first flu-related death this season
South Carolina’s first flu-related death of the season was confirmed Thursday.
A person in the Upstate region died from complications from the flu, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control said in a release.
Health officials did not release Information about the person.
“Unfortunately, we see many deaths, hospitalizations and other serious complications of flu each year in South Carolina,” Linda Bell, state epidemiologist and the department’s director of the Bureau of Communicable Disease Prevention and Control, said in a statement.
The flu shot is the best way to prevent the flu, Bell said, and everyone 6 months and older is encouraged to get it.
Young children, pregnant women and people 65 and older are at an especially high risk for serious flu complications, health officials said, as are those with “chronic health conditions like asthma, diabetes, heart or lung disease. “
Flu season starts in October, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and peaks between December and February.
It’s not too late to get a flu shot, the CDC says.
This story was originally published October 31, 2019 at 2:51 PM with the headline "South Carolina reports its first flu-related death this season."
