2 Flu Deaths Reported in Santa Clara County

Two Santa Clara County residents, including a child, have died from influenza, county health department officials said Tuesday. The dates of their deaths were not released.

The child was previously healthy and had recently returned from traveling overseas. The adult, who was under 65, had an underlying chronic illness that put the individual at increased risk from the flu, said Dr. Sara Cody, county health officer and director of the Public Health Department.

"From what we know, the adult would have gotten the infection here in Santa Clara County. They had an underlying chronic illness that would have put them at increased risk," Cody said during a Tuesday press conference. "The child most likely acquired influenza while traveling abroad, and then got sick and died once returning to the county.”

Officials are investigating the deaths and haven't determined if the two individuals were vaccinated. Cody clarified that the two individuals were not related.

Due to medical privacy requirements, further details about the individuals will not be released, according to a county health department statement.

"Flu season doesn't really obey a calendar. What we can say about flu season is that it's always unpredictable," Cody said. "So I think that since we've had two flu deaths, we can certainly say that flu is here."

Cody said that it was very unusual to be reporting deaths so early in the flu season, before any significant uptick in reports of symptoms or infections requiring hospitalization.

But Cody also said that the California Department of Public Health has a robust influenza surveillance system with data from many health care systems, and that "they're not seeing any increase in activity in Northern California above the usual."

In the 2018-2019 flu season, eight flu-related deaths were reported in Santa Clara County in people under 65.

While the flu vaccine is recommended for everyone 6 months and older, it is especially important for pregnant women, children younger than 5, adults 65 and older, and those with chronic medical conditions, such as heart disease, asthma and diabetes, county officials said. Cody also stressed it was important for travelers to get flu shots because influenza circulates throughout the world at all times — something underscored by the child’s death.

Santa Clara County's Public Health Department encourages individuals to obtain more information about the flu at their flu web page.