News Articles

How dangerous is the flu? We answer your questions about the dreaded winter illness

Mar 17th, 2018 | By: Felice J. Freyer Globe Staff,

For Jenny Ching, a 51-year-old restaurant hostess from Needham, an apparent case of the flu led to pneumonia, and then a severe, rapidly spreading infection that claimed her life Jan. 5, her husband says. In Pennsylvania, 21-year-old aspiring personal trainer Kyler Baughman had normal flu symptoms that progressively worsened; he died last month at a hospital.

The deaths — two people cut down in the prime of life by a commonplace illness — have raised concern about whether this year’s flu season is especially dangerous. Should we all be worried? Here are some answers.

 Are these two deaths unusual?

No.

“It happens every year,” said Dr. Alfred DeMaria, medical director of the Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences at the state Department of Public Health. “Unfortunately, it’s a thing we expect to happen.”