The A/H1N1 flu death toll in the most populous U.S. State of California has reached 80 with hospitalizations of 699, according to the latest statistics released by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) late Thursday.

The department said that 28 more deaths have been reported in the past two weeks, a formidable jump from the previous record of 52 released two weeks ago by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Since the outbreak of the A/H1N1 flu, California has been among the top states leading the nation with most deaths and confirmed cases of the new flu virus. But the department said on Thursday that, beginning from July 16, it has changed the reporting requirements for the A/H1N1 influenza by local health jurisdictions.

The new reporting requirements will track only hospitalized and fatal cases, the department said, adding that non-hospitalized case reporting is no longer needed at this stage of the pandemic.

The department now believes hospitalizations and fatalities provide the most accurate measures of disease severity in California communities and serve the public health goal of tracking A/H1N1 disease trends in the west-coast state.

The A/H1N1 virus is now widespread throughout California and reporting outpatient cases does not assist in further efforts to understand the pandemic, the department said.

The state health officials urge people to be well-prepared for the pandemic declared by World Health Organization last month.

(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2009)