Flu blamed for deaths of three elderly people in Lexington

Herald-Leader photo by Charles Bertram

Health officials have blamed influenza for the deaths of three elderly people in Lexington.

Lexington-Fayette County Health Department spokesman Kevin Hall told WKYT-TV that the three had other health complications, but flu was the proximate cause of their deaths.

Flu cases had been confirmed in 14 of Kentucky's 17 health regions as of Dec. 16, the last weekly flu report from the state Department for Public Health. The peak of the flu season, late January and early February, is approaching, but it usually runs into May, so health officials recommend that everyone get a flu shot. Many pharmacies across the state still offer the shots.