Minn. records 201 flu deaths this season

Health officials say Minnesota topped 200 influenza-related deaths this flu season.

In its final weekly report until next fall, the Minnesota Department of Health said Thursday there were 201 flu-related deaths during the 2012-13 influenza season.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that's the highest annual tally in the four years that Minnesota health officials have been collecting death statistics using current methods.

The health department says 3,088 people were hospitalized with influenza in Minnesota this season. That's the highest annual total in the five years that health officials have collected statewide numbers.

While the flu season was severe, Kris Ehresmann, the health department's director of infectious disease, says it might have seemed particularly bad because the previous four seasonal flu bugs had been mild.

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Information from: St. Paul Pioneer Press