Feb 8, 2007 9:05 pm US/Central
2 More Minn. Children Die Of Influenza
by Mary Tan
St. Paul (WCCO) ―
Two more Minnesota children have died of influenza, bringing the total to three this flu season, health officials said Thursday.
An 8-year-old and a 17-month-old were the latest to die, following an 8-year-old Ramsey County boy whose death was announced Jan. 31.
The Minnesota Department of Health didn't release the gender or hometowns of the children. One was from Hennepin County, the other from Isanti County, said Kris Ehresmann, head of the immunization program at the Minnesota Department of Health.
None of the three children had gotten flu shots, the health department said. All became ill between Jan. 18 and Feb. 1, and all had the influenza A (H1) strain of the virus.
Flu deaths in children are infrequent but not rare. Health officials have said about 100 die each year of complications from the flu. Thirteen children have died of the flu nationally this year, the health department said.
"Three of the 13 in Minnesota, that seems unusual but we think it's just the bad luck of the draw, a statistical fluke," said Richard Danila, the deputy state epidemiologist. "There's nothing unusual about the children, they didn't know each other, there's no links, nothing unusual about the virus."
More schools are reporting flu outbreaks than last year; 224 so far this season, compared with 199 during the entire flu season of 2005-2006.
Dr. Carolyn McKay is a pediatrician with Fairview Children's Clinic.
"The fact we've had some issue identified, we probably are having a more severe flu season from this year," McKay said.
McKay said in recent years, it has become easier to identify cases of influenza in children.
"I think people are looking harder, they're doing more swabs to identify the virus, and in the past, you could see a pneumonia in the X-ray, you knew the child had pneumonia, and you could guess it had a viral start," McKay said.
That's why we're hearing about more and more cases and deaths.
McKay said children under five get sick the most.
"Little kids put their hands, they touch, they have them everywhere and they put them in their mouth," McKay explained. "Little kids attend daycare and other settings with other little kids."
McKay insists the flu is easier to prevent than treat. She said if you haven't yet, it's time for a shot. Health officials said flu vaccine is still in good supply around the state.
For the second week in a row, Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota scheduled a special vaccination clinic for Saturday at its St. Paul location to give free shots to children 6 months and older, as well as to adults.
Some 540 people were vaccinated at last week's clinic, about five times the volume typical before the first child's death was announced, said Patsy Stinchfield, a pediatric nurse practitioner and director of infectious disease and infection control at Children's.
The health department said influenza is widespread throughout the state right now, but it hasn't reached its peak.
If anyone has any information or stories to share about these latest flu victims, please contact WCCO-TV at
wcconewstips@wcco.com.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
