Influenza and Pneumonia Deaths by County, New Mexico, 2016-2020

Why Is This Important?

Influenza (flu) is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. Illness from influenza viruses can be severe and can lead to complications such as pneumonia and death.^1^ Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs due to a variety of causes that can also be severe and lead to complications, including death. Some people, such as older people, young children, and people with certain health conditions, are at higher risk for serious complications and death from influenza and pneumonia. In 2020, pneumonia and/or influenza was the 11th leading cause of death as underlying causes of death in New Mexico. It was the 6th leading cause for children (1-14 years) and the 10th leading cause for adults (65+ years).^2^ [[br]][[br]] ---- {{class .SmallerFont # Seasonal Influenza: The Disease. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Downloaded from: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/ on 10/8/2013. # Query Results for Mortality Data, Years 1999 to 2020. Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics. New Mexico Department of Health. Retrieved Wed, 20 April 2022 from the New Mexico Department of Health Indicator-Based Information System (NM-IBIS) for Public Health Web site: http://ibis.doh.nm.gov. }}

Definition

Deaths from influenza and pneumonia per 100,000 population, age-adjusted. Deaths from influenza and pneumonia include all deaths with an underlying cause with ICD10 codes J09-J18.

Data Notes

Data Sources

• New Mexico Death Data: Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics (BVRHS), Epidemiology and Response Division, New Mexico Department of Health.
  (https://www.nmhealth.org/about/erd/bvrhs/vrp/)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC WONDER Online Database
  (http://wonder.cdc.gov)
• New Mexico Population Estimates: University of New Mexico, Geospatial and Population Studies (GPS) Program.
  (http://gps.unm.edu/)

How the Measure is Calculated

Data Issues

• Death Certificate Data

  Death certificate information is submitted electronically by funeral directors, who obtain demographic information from an informant, a close family member of the decedent. The NMDOH Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics (BVRHS) does annual trainings for funeral directors and local registrars and the death certificate information goes through extensive scrutiny for completeness and consistency. The cause of death is certified by the decedent's physician or the physician that attended the death. Accidental and suspicious deaths are certified by the Office of the Medical Investigator. When death certificates are received the cause of death literals are keyed into software locally by the BVRHS, then shipped to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) where they are machine coded into ICD-10 cause-of-death codes. NCHS returns the ICD-10 codes to BVRHS where the death records are updated.

• New Mexico Population Estimates

  All population estimates apply to July 1 of the selected year. These estimates are considered the most accurate estimates for the state of New Mexico and should match those found on the University of New Mexico Geospatial and Population Studies website. Estimates include decimal fractions. Census tract population estimates were summed to produce County and Small Area population estimates. Population estimate totals may vary due to rounding. Population estimates for previous years are occasionally revised as new information becomes available. When publishing trend data, always be sure that your rates for earlier years match current rates on NM-IBIS that have been calculated with the most up-to-date population estimates.

Health Topic Pages Related to: Influenza and Pneumonia Deaths

• Immunization
• Infectious Diseases
• Leading Causes of Death