Nearly 100 people have died from the flu in Georgia this year and that number is expected to climb in the coming weeks.

The latest influenza report was released by the Georgia Department of Public Health on Friday evening and there have been 98 confirmed influenza associated deaths, including four pediatric deaths.

The eight-county metro Atlantic area has had 2,034 influenza-associated hospitalizations.

For the ninth consecutive week, the weekly influenza intensity indicator measures Georgia’s flu rate at 10 out of 10.

“Influenza activity remained high in Georgia and nationally; a reminder that this season is not over,” said Hayla Folden, public information officer for district four of the Georgia Department of Public Health, in an email.
“Additionally, we believe the number of influenza associated deaths, hospitalizations and outbreaks are underestimated due to reporting delays and will increase in the coming weeks.”

Folden said last week that there have been two flu related deaths within Troup County.

Almost half of the hospitalizations (45 percent) in the eight county Atlanta metro area have involved people 65 and older.

However, the flu is affecting people of all ages.   Nearly a fifth of the cases involve people ages 18 to 49 (396) and another fifth (405 cases) involve people 50 to 64 years old.

Seventy of the 98 deaths in Georgia have been people 65 and older, according to the report.