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SALT LAKE CITY — More young and middle-aged adults were hospitalized for influenza this flu season than any other age group nationally.
Across the nation, people ages 18 to 64 represented 61 percent of influenza-related hospitalizations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday. This is an increase from the age group’s hospitalizations last year, when it represented 35 percent of influenza hospitalizations.
CDC said the H1N1 virus that circulated this flu season was noted in 2009 for its effect on younger- and middle-aged people. The organization also urged flu vaccinations.
“Flu hospitalizations and deaths in people younger- and middle-aged adults is a sad and difficult reminder that flu can be serious for anyone, not just the very young and old; and that everyone should be vaccinated,” said CDC director Tom Frieden, M.D., MPH. “The good news is that this season's vaccine is doing its job, protecting people across all age groups."
In Utah, 668 people were hospitalized this season for influenza. Of those, 200 were in the 25 to 49 age group, and 182 belonged in the 50 to 64 age group. Comparatively, 137 people from the 65-plus age group were hospitalized. The 65-plus age group had the highest rate of hospitalization, however.
H1N1 made up 98.3 percent of cases in Utah. Since the beginning of January, positive influenza tests in the state have gone down.
