Flu claims 107 lives in NC this season

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Figures from the state Department of Health and Human Services show that 107 people died from the flu in North Carolina this season, compared with 59 the previous season.

Just nine died in the season that ended in spring 2011.

State medical epidemiologist Zack Moore tells The News & Observer of Raleigh (http://bit.ly/1vSBxfU ) that one reason for the higher number of deaths may be that younger people worry less about the flu and are less likely to get their shots.

This season, nearly two-thirds of the deaths were reported in people between the ages of 24 and 65.

Typically, the virus begins showing up in late fall and cases subside by mid-May, when the state typically issues its last weekly flu statistics report of the season.

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Information from: The News & Observer, http://www.newsobserver.com