Growing Number of Young Children Dying From Flu

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January 26, 2018

As of Jan. 20, there had been 37 flu-associated deaths in children, according to the most recent data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Via today.com:

Seven children died within the last week. Compared to last year's flu season at this time, there were only eight children who died from flu, the CDC reported Friday.

The family of a 12-year-old boy in Florida is grieving after flu is suspected in the child's death on Tuesday. Dylan Winnik had sniffles and was exhausted, symptoms his family initially thought were a cold. Now, they believe it was flu.

Health officials aren't sure yet, but Dylan may be the latest in a growing number of young children dying this year from influenza.

A 6-year-old girl in North Carolina died from flu on Jan. 18, a few days after falling ill. When Emily Muth's breathing become labored, her worried parents called an ambulance. Paramedics told the family Emily was experiencing typical flu symptoms and that she'd be better soon. But a few short hours after the ambulance left, the girl stopped breathing, her family posted on their GoFundMe page.

It's too soon to say whether the current flu season, which may last until May, will lead to a higher number of children's deaths than in previous years. It's been an especially tough flu season and while cases are beginning to go down in some parts of the country, it remains high for most of the US and may not peak for several more weeks, according to the CDC. Most people are being infected with the H3N2 strain of the virus, which tends to cause more hospitalizations and deaths.

The actual number of pediatric deaths may be much higher, since it takes a few weeks for CDC to gather the information, and not all states report flu deaths quickly or in the same way.

"Every year in the U.S., somewhere between 100 to 300 pediatric deaths form the flu are reported," said Dr. John Williams, a professor and division chief of pediatric infectious diseases at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "And that's likely an underestimate. We might have more deaths than usual this year. We don't know what's going to happen with the rest of the season. We probably haven't peaked yet."

The best way to protect children from catching the flu is to vaccinate them, Williams said. Even if the flu vaccine doesn't prevent you from getting sick, "some protection is a lot better than no protection," he said.

Although the vaccine this year isn't a perfect match — its effectiveness at completely preventing the flu from one particularly severe strain has been estimated to range from 10 to 30 percent — the shot can at least lessen symptoms in those who end up getting the flu. The vaccine, which is made from two proteins culled from the surface of killed virus particles, alerts the immune system that invaders might be on the way. If a person is vaccinated at least two weeks before coming in contact with the flu, then there will be antibodies already made and waiting to do battle.

Some 80 to 85 percent of children who died from the flu in past years were not vaccinated, said CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund.

Reports of children dying from flu is frightening, but, overall, flu is not usually an emergency. Doctors do urge parents to get children to an emergency room if they have these symptoms: