(Susan Scutti/ CNN) — This flu season is fierce and has already claimed the lives of at least 30 children in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Although it doesn’t count adult deaths, the CDC estimates that 8.2% of those for the week ending January 13 were due to pneumonia and influenza — that’s more than 1% higher than usual.
Added to those scary stats, the World Health Organization estimates that annual flu epidemics result in about 3 to 5 million cases of severe illness globally and 290,000 to 650,000 deaths.
Although the fever and aches may feel terrible, most of us don’t die from the flu. So how exactly does this common illness lead to so many dying?
“Influenza and its complications disproportionately affect people who are 65 and older. They account for 80% of the deaths,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University. (…)