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OSLO, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- So far there have been ten people who were reported dead as a result of flu and the numbers of hospitalized patients are much higher than last winter, newspaper Aftenposten reported Tuesday.
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) has for the first time published the number of flu patients that died in Norwegian hospitals' intensive care units, the report said.
NIPH's department director Siri Hauge said the deceased were mostly older people, who in many cases suffered from other diseases and became seriously ill after catching the flu.
So far the biggest number of flu patients occurred in eastern Norway.
The flu virus that is active this season is type A (H3N2), which often affects older people, in contract to last year's type A (H1N1). That is why older patients make the biggest number in hospitals, according to Aftenposten.
Hauge said that older people can be weakened due to poor lung functions and immune system and it is easier for them to get lung inflammation that can be dangerous. Enditem
