The Lehigh County coroner’s office has started doing postmortem testing for influenza and respiratory syncytial virus in some death investigations.
The move comes amid one of the most severe flu seasons in recent memory in the U.S. This testing will only occur on deaths being investigated by the coroner’s office, where the individual in question died in a residence and either had symptoms of a respiratory illness before death, or if information was provided by family members.
Lehigh County Coroner Daniel A. Buglio said this testing is a proactive measure to help his office determine if flu or another respiratory infection contributed to someone’s death.
“We did this to give peace of mind to families,” Buglio said.
Samples are collected via a postmortem nasal swab and will undergo a comprehensive respiratory panel that includes flu, COVID-19 and RSV. Results are produced in 48-72 hours and do not delay funeral arrangements.
The coroner’s office started performing these tests a few weeks ago, and Buglio said that no tests have come back positive for flu so far, though several were still pending.
According to the coroner’s office, the enhanced testing supports public health surveillance efforts and helps provide families and health care partners with a more complete understanding of contributing medical factors.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently announced that outpatient visits for flu-like illness are at the highest total they’ve been since the 1997-98 flu season. States like New York are seeing the most activity in the country, whereas flu activity in Pennsylvania is merely high.
Flu cases in Pennsylvania rapidly decreased last week, though the Pennsylvania Department of Health has said cases may rise again. During the first week of 2026, flu accounted for about 2% of deaths in the state and 2,355 people were hospitalized with flu-related illness, including 515 children.