As reports show fewer cases of one viral infection in our area, there’s another that could soon impact southeast Wisconsin.
On Friday morning, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin officially lifted its flu season restrictions on young visitors. It's a clear sign flu season is ending, but Dr. Lyn Ranta said we aren’t out of the woods yet.
“Last year was a particularly busy year, in 2018. We had 100 last season. So, we’ve almost caught up to last season,” Ranta said.
This year’s flu season in southeast Wisconsin started slowly, but since the first of the year, Ranta said nearly 90 patients were hospitalized because of the flu. When looking at the numbers in the state, two child deaths were reported since Oct. 1, and there were 86 child deaths nationwide. Eighty-six people from Wisconsin died during the entire flu season, but the hardest-hit age group was those 65 and older, with 55 deaths.
“Our influenza season in this part of the state has peaked and is declining. We certainly aren’t out of the woods yet. There’s a lot of influenza still in the community," Ranta said.
“Last year was a particularly busy year, in 2018. We had 100 last season. So, we’ve almost caught up to last season.” — Dr. Lyn Ranta
As flu season declines, outbreaks of the measles throughout the Midwest are on the rise.
Ranta said there’s almost a 100% chance Wisconsin will start to see outbreaks of the measles sooner than later. This week, the CDC reported 555 cases of the measles across the country.
