Some 80,000 People Died Of Flu In America Last Year: US Health Agency

An estimated 80,000 people died of flu and its complications last winter, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which also said in a separate study that suicide was on the rise in the US among almost every age group.

WASHINGTON, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Sep, 2018 ) :An estimated 80,000 people died of flu and its complications last winter, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which also said in a separate study that suicide was on the rise in the US among almost every age group.

The CDC is the leading national public health institute and a Federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services.

CDC Director Robert Redfield told a media outlet that there were 80,000 people died of flu last year and called on people to get vaccinated. Flu death toll has been between 12,000 and 56,000, and the number reported in 2017 was higher than any flu season going back to 1876-77.

In a separate study, the principal deputy director of CDC said that suicide rate was high amongst almost every age group.

"Suicide � in all ages except for young children and the elderly � is one of the few conditions that's getting worse instead of better around the country," Anne Schuchat told online news magazine The Hill.

Nearly 45,000 Americans have lost their lives to suicide in 2016, and suicide rates have spiked more than 30 percent in half of states across the country since 1999, according to the CDC.

According to Schuchat, suicide is not�only a result of mental health conditions, even though they're often seen as a contributing cause.

The CDC reported that more than half of people who committed suicide did not have a known mental health condition.� "A lot of people don't have a prior diagnosis of depression or other mental health conditions and so if you know someone that you're worried about, there are ways to reach out for help � there's help lines that can help you if you're having questions yourself or if you're worried about someone you love," she told The Hill. There can be other risk factor like finances and employment.

Schuchat said the organization is also starting to see an overlap between suicides and the opioid epidemic in middle aged adults. The opioid crisis was declared as a public health emergency by the US Health and Human Health Services in 2017.��