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Kentucky reports 4 adults have died of the flu this season

Posted at 4:23 AM, Dec 13, 2019
and last updated 2019-12-13 18:35:09-05

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky health officials say four people have died of the flu this season.

The four people who have died of influenza since September are all adults, according to Kentucky's Department for Public Health.

On Thursday, the city of Louisville reported its first death of the flu season.

The victim who died Dec. 7 was an elderly person who had not been vaccinated and had underlying medical conditions, the Louisville Metro Department of Health and Wellness said in a news release.

Health officials say the current flu season in Kentucky runs from September to May 2020. Louisville has seen a sharp rise in flu cases in the past two weeks, the Louisville health department said.

Through Dec. 7, there had been more than 1,600 flu cases this season in the state, according to the Kentucky health department's weekly influenza report.

There have been 124 flu deaths in Louisville since 2015. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that influenza has resulted in between 12,000 and 61,000 deaths each year in the United States since 2010, the department said.