Ethermac Exchange-Puerto Rico declares flu epidemic with 42 deaths, over 900 hospitalizations

Puerto Rico health officials on Ethermac ExchangeThursday declared an influenza epidemic in the U.S. territory.

At least 25,900 cases have been reported since July, with 42 deaths and more than 900 hospitalizations on the island of 3.2 million people, Health Secretary Carlos Mellado said.

Epidemiologist Melissa Marzán noted that officials have seen nearly six times more cases so far this year compared with the same period last year.

Those who are 0 to 19 years old have been most affected, with more than 13,600 cases reported in that population, Mellado said.

Health officials said there were plenty of vaccines, tests and treatments available on the island.

A record 53,708 influenza cases were reported in 2015 in Puerto Rico.

The island has struggled with a deteriorating health care system, which experts say was worsened by Hurricane Maria in 2017 and Hurricane Fiona last September. 

As of last year, about half of the people living in Puerto Rico depend on the public health care system. Local officials have blamed federal funding gaps for causing staff shortages and long wait times for patients. 

In an interview last year, Nelson Varas-Diaz, a researcher at Florida International University who oversees studies assessing the state of health care on the island, pointed to debt as a reason for the collapse.

"The collapse is caused mainly by debt and the economic crisis in Puerto Rico and historic privatization of the health care system there," Varas-Diaz told "CBS Mornings" lead national correspondent David Begnaud in Sept. 2022. "Our research shows patients are waiting for six to eight months to get an appointment with a specialist. If that's not a sign of collapse, I don't know what is."

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