Health officials in Larimer County said Wednesday that 42 people have been hospitalized with influenza in the past week as part of what could become the county’s worst flu season in a decade.
Since Oct. 1, 83 people have been hospitalized with the flu in the county and two have died, including a child, the county’s public health department said.
“The 2012-13 flu season was also bad, with 103 total hospitalizations by the end of the flu season, but we are not near the end of this season’s outbreak here,” Dr. Adrienne LeBailly, the county’s public health director, said in a statement.
Officials said roughly two-thirds of those hospitalized in Larimer County are over age 70, and half have been 80 or older. Nursing homes have seen outbreaks and some have put residents and staff on preventive antiviral medications.
