Child flu deaths have schools on edge

OMAHA, Nebraska (AP) -- Midway through the month when influenza typically peaks, health officials were monitoring four hospitalized Nebraska children, while three North Carolina schools remained closed over widespread symptoms of the illness.

And in Oklahoma, 400 students were out sick with the flu, though no schools were closed, authorities said.

Still, a federal health official called this season relatively mild so far.

Around the country, at least nine children have died of flu, and six other child deaths have been tentatively linked to flu since February 3, said Curtis Allen, a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Last year, 47 children under age 18 died from influenza. In 2003-2004, the worst recent flu season, 153 children died.

Three of the ill Nebraska children had severe muscle aches that made it hard for them to stand, similar to symptoms of the 11-year-old who died, Dr. Tom Safranek of Nebraska Health and Human Services said Thursday.

Ahn T. "Anna" Do of Lincoln. Anna died February 10 in Omaha, Nebraska, four days after falling ill, according to her father, Chi Do.

None of the three, ages 6 to 12, were nearly as sick as she had been, Safranek said.

The fourth ill Nebraska child was lethargic and hard to rouse, he said. State officials did not have updated information on their children's conditions Friday morning, but expected to know more later in the day.

Safranek said the four children did not have any known relation or geographic proximity to one another or Anna. State officials did not immediately know whether any had been vaccinated.

In North Carolina, the three schools in Hyde County closed Wednesday after at least 20 percent of their total 541 students fell ill, school system spokeswoman Carol Evans said Thursday. The schools won't reopen until Monday, she said.

The illness was blamed for last week's death of a 7-year-old girl in Seattle, Washington, and an 8-year-old who died there Wednesday had suffered from flu-like systems, health authorities there said.

About 36,000 people die from the flu each year in the United States, according to the CDC.

Nearly a thousand people seeking influenza vaccinations converged Sunday on clinics in Seattle and Auburn after the deaths of two young girls.

Some of them were undoubtedly prompted by the death Saturday of a third child who had been experiencing flulike symptoms. However, the King County medical examiner announced over the weekend that the 7-year-old Bellevue boy's death was not caused by the flu.

Experts said there is no reason to believe that the region is experiencing a larger outbreak of flu than normal or a more virulent strain of the disease.

Public Health -- Seattle & King County, in response to community concern and recent seasonal flu cases, provided free flu vaccinations Sunday at the public health centers in Northgate and Auburn.

Free vaccinations will be offered again today, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Eastgate Public Health Center, 14350 S.E. Eastgate Way, Bellevue.

No one will be turned away who wants to get vaccinated, the health department said. But it warned there might be a wait.

Public-health personnel inoculated 961 people Sunday, health department spokesman James Apa said. There were 450 people vaccinated at the North Public Health Center. At the Auburn clinic, 511 got shots.

As dozens of parents and children crowded corridors and a meeting room at the North clinic, Deborah Park waited outside with son David, 8, and daughter Sarah, 5. All three were wearing surgical-style masks.

David, a second-grader at Laurelhurst Elementary School, is a classmate of 8- year-old Marija Alumbaugh, who died of myocarditis because of the flu. "She was my friend," David said.

"It was so, so scary," Park said. "And did you hear about the little boy in Bellevue? I am pretty concerned about germs spreading at school. School is safe, but I'm still pretty concerned."

Luke Deasy, the Bellevue boy, died from bacterial pericarditis, an inflammation of a membrane around the heart. Influenza is a viral disease as opposed to a bacterial one and played no role in infecting the tissue surrounding the little boy's heart, according to the Medical Examiner's Office and the health department.

However, if Luke had the flu, it could have made him more susceptible to other conditions, according to public health officials. Results of tests to determine if an influenza virus was present in the boy are pending.

He died Saturday morning and had been experiencing flulike symptoms.

Local health officials said the seasonal outbreak of flu -- as measured by school absenteeism -- is within the expected range so far this year. Nationally, 15 children -- not counting the two from King County -- have died so far this year in apparent complications from flulike disease.

In the last flu season, 47 children died around the country, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesman Curtis Allen said.

Allen said, "It is a rare occurrence when a child dies" of the flu.

He suggested frequent hand washing, covering the mouth when coughing and staying home when sick are good measures to prevent the spread of flu.

Marija, the Laurelhurst second-grader, died Wednesday night at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center after being sick for several days.

A 7-year-old suburban Kent girl, Sarah Horner, died Feb. 5, also of myocarditis -- an inflammation of the heart -- that was because of the flu.

Dr. Ron Kaplan with Children's Hospital said myocarditis is a rare complication of influenza, and parents need not panic.

"We see far more cases of dehydration or development of secondary bacterial infections like pneumonia with influenza. But myocarditis is exceptionally rare," he said.

The Kent girl was the first child younger than 15 to die in King County because of flu-related causes since 1999, said Jeffrey Duchin, chief of the communicable disease section for the health department.

As of the end of last week, more than 50 King County schools were reporting more than 10 percent absenteeism, but that was still within a normal range for flu season, said Apa, the health department spokesman.

Bishop Blanchet High School, a private school in Seattle, canceled classes at the end of last week because nearly a third of the student body had called in sick.

Kaplan said parents should watch for important warning signals -- dehydration, excessive tiredness and flu symptoms that do not improve within a few days. Parents also should watch for signs of potential heart trouble including difficulty breathing, chest pains and lips turning blue.

He also says it's not too late to get your child vaccinated with this year's flu shot to protect him or her from the strains that are currently active and infectious.

WHERE TO GET VACCINATED

• Free vaccinations will continue today, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Eastgate Public Health Center, 14350 S.E. Eastgate Way, Bellevue.

• Flu shots will be available this week beginning Tuesday at nine clinics for a $15 fee. Unlike the walk-in clinic today appointments will be required. For further information, go online at metrokc.gov/health/immunization/clinics.htm.

KETV.com

Related To Story Anh "Anna" Do

Flu Victim Identified

State's Top Doctor Frustrated By Flu Death

OMAHA, Neb. -- A Lincoln girl who died of influenza has been identified as Anh Do, 11.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said Do died after contracting the flu. The virus attacked the girl's muscles, which is rare, HHS said.

Officials said she started experiencing symptoms and went to a hospital last week. She was transferred to Omaha's Children's Hospital, where she died over the weekend.

Officials said Do is not a Lincoln Public Schools student. She attends a different school district in Lancaster County. She is not being identified because of federal medical privacy laws.

State epidemiologist Dr. Tom Safranek said the girl had severe diarrhea and vomiting and she got very dehydrated.

"It's troubling to all of us to that children should die of a disease so preventable," Safranek said. "There's something about her immune system that allowed this virus to interact."

Flu activity is widespread across the state. Health officials said this year's flu is affecting children more than adults. They said most adults have either been vaccinated or have had the flu so they have some immunity where children may not.

"We have seen, repeatedly in school, after schoo,l very high numbers of children affected with influenza," Safranek said.

The CDC recommends flu shots for all children between 6 months and 5 years old, but school children can also benefit from a shot. Health officials said more parents are realizing that annual flu vaccination for school children is a good idea. Vaccination not only offers protection against the flu, but it also reduces the spread of the flu to other children and adults.

Nurse Kris Strapp said it is hard for parents not to worry when they hear a girl died from the flu. She said it is not too late to get a flu shot.

"Kids get old enough to not like vaccinations and sometimes just not wanting one is powerful enough (to keep parents from insisting)," Strapp said.

Safranek said it took less than a week for Do to get the flu and die from it. He said that within the next few years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be pushing for school-aged children to get a flu shot every year.

Safranek said the girl may have infected other children because she did go to school the week she was sick. Those children probably won't have the same symptoms she did, Safranek said.

He said some of Do's family members got the flu from her and they had regular flu symptoms, such as coughing and sneezing.

Nationally, at least nine children have died of flu this season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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