Smokescreens - Part 3

Influenza deaths

As we have seen, the 10th revision of the International Classification of Disease (ICD) is used to code events. The series of codes which interest us are the J codes:

ICD Code

• J09  Influenza due to certain identified influenza virus

• J10 Influenza due to other identified influenza virus 

• J11 Influenza, virus not identified 

• J12 Viral pneumonia not elsewhere classified

• J13 Pneumonia due to Streptococcus pneumoniae 

• J14 Pneumonia due to Haemophilus influenzae 

• J15 Bacterial pneumonia, not elsewhere classified

• J16 Pneumonia due to other infectious organisms, not elsewhere classified

• J17 Pneumonia in diseases classified elsewhere

• J18 Pneumonia, organism unspecified

The first thing to note is that only deaths directly attributed to influenza are the ones with the J09-J11 codes. All the rest are Flu/F word-related. 

To be 100% sure that influenza is in the frame, we would have to look at notes examine lab results, and post-mortem results, if they exist. However, let’s assume the J09-J10 codes are accurat…