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NC Reports State's First Flu Deaths Of Season

State health officials report the first two deaths from flu in North Carolina this season.

It is said to be one of the earliest reports of flu deaths the state has seen. Both victims were in the Triad. One was said to be a high-risk case because of age. The other was generally healthy. Zack More is a state epidemiologist. He says both cases show the flu cannot be taken lightly.

Zack Moore: "For most people influenza infections are very unpleasant and may take you of work or take you out of school for a while but these cases are a reminder that sometimes they can result in more severe complications and even death."

The C-D-C in Atlanta says more than 25-thousand people die from flu in this country each year. Health officials say that's why everyone..particularly people with chronic diseases, the very young, the very old and women who are pregnant..should go to a doctor or their local pharmacy to be vaccinated.

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Gurnal Scott joined North Carolina Public Radio in March 2012 after several stops in radio and television. After graduating from the College of Charleston in his South Carolina hometown, he began his career in radio there. He started as a sports reporter at News/Talk Radio WTMA and won five Sportscaster of the Year awards. In 1997, Gurnal moved on to television as general assignment reporter and weekend anchor for WCSC-TV in Charleston. He anchored the market's top-rated weekend newscasts until leaving Charleston for Memphis, TN in 2002. Gurnal worked at WPTY-TV for two years before returning to his roots in radio. He joined the staff of Memphis' NewsRadio 600 WREC in 2004 eventually rising to News Director. In 2006, Raleigh news radio station WPTF came calling and he became the station's chief correspondent. Gurnal’s reporting has been honored by the South Carolina Broadcasters Association, the North Carolina Associated Press, and the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas.
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