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Georgetown Teen Dies From The Flu

Latest child flu victim identified

By Josephine Marcotty, Randy Furst and Maura Lerner, Star Tribune

A 44-year-old Minneapolis firefighter and an 8-year-old child appear to be the latest casualties in what is shaping up to be a particularly deadly flu season for Minnesota, health officials said Tuesday.

The child was identified today as 8-year-old Chace VanGuilder, of Esko, who died Monday at St. Mary’s Hospital in Duluth.

Barry DeLude, a 20-year veteran of the Minneapolis Fire Department, died Tuesday morning at Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina. He may have had an underlying health condition that contributed to his death, officials said.

“We’re very saddened by the death of a child and our hearts go out to the family,” said Terri Allen, public health supervisor for Carlton County, where VanGuilder lived.

She confirmed that Chace had been vaccinated against the flu. But she said that he was a “medically fragile child,” and that the vaccine is known to be less effective in people with underlying health problems.

Since news of the boy’s death, her office has been flooded with calls from parents and others seeking flu shots, she said. The county has scheduled a flu shot clinic for children and adults today from 4-7 pm at Cloquet High School.

The other three children who died had not been vaccinated, said Kris Ehresmann, head of immunizations for the Minnesota Department of Health.

While the vaccine is the best protection available, it is not always enough to prevent serious complications in people with other health problems, she said.

The Minnesota deaths are a sharp reminder that influenza can be a dangerous disease, Ehresmann said.

"Because we've had mild flu seasons, we forget about that," she said. "There is a tendency to complacency."

Nancy Zimpfer, DeLude's sister-in-law, said DeLude developed flu-like symptoms about a week ago, and was hospitalized the night of Feb. 6. She said there were "complications" that the family asked her not to disclose and he got considerably worse in the last 48 hours of his life.

His death stunned the close-knit Fire Department, said Interim Chief Jim Clack.

"[He] was really a valiant member of this department," Clack said at a City Hall news conference, adding that DeLude's death is "a shocking event for us."

Preliminary testing has confirmed that both DeLude and the child had the flu virus, but the medical investigation is still going on, Ehresmann said.

Flu strain was predicted

Ehresmann said that there is nothing unusual about the flu strain that is circulating this year, a variety of influenza A. It was accurately predicted, was well matched by the vaccine, and is usually associated with mild outbreaks.

But this week's deaths, combined with those of three other children -- two 8-year-olds and a toddler -- have heightened concern about this year's outbreak, prompting a surge in last-minute vaccinations around the state.

In recent years Minnesota has been lucky, while other states have reported pockets of deaths among children.

To date, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that fewer than 20 children have died during the current flu season, including the four from Minnesota, Ehresmann said.

State health officials are planning to send vaccines to the area in and around Carlton County, which is south of Duluth, in anticipation of an increased demand in the aftermath of the death of the child there.

On average, about 40 children are among the estimated 36,000 deaths that occur each year from flu. Most of those are elderly people or adults with other health problems.

In Minnesota some 700 to 800 people die each year from flu, pneumonia or a combination of both, but the last time a child died in the state was during the 2004-2005 flu season, Ehresmann said.

Minneapolis is arranging to offer more flu-shot clinics for its employees, Clack said. Flu shots are not mandatory for firefighters or other city employees.

Ehresmann said that plenty of vaccine is still available in the state, and more can be provided from manufacturers or other states if supplies run low.

Firefighting roots

The father of two teenage children, DeLude was a fire-truck operator based in Station No. 17 in south Minneapolis, the same neighborhood where he grew up, Clack said.

DeLude joined the Fire Department 20 years ago, and was promoted to fire motor operator in 1993, responsible for driving the fire truck and in charge of attaching fire hoses to the hydrant and pumping water, according to Kristi Rollwagen, a deputy fire chief.

DeLude's sister-in-law said that he graduated from Southwest High School and the University of Minnesota, and joined the Fire Department after he developed a strong bond with John Hannon, Zimpfer's late father, who was a member of the department.

DeLude is survived by his wife, Linda, two sons, Jacob and Mark, three brothers, two sisters, as well as his parents, Zimpfer said. Mark is a member of the highly ranked hockey team at the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield.

About three dozen firefighters went to see Mark play in Tuesday night's game against Shakopee, and a moment of silence was observed for his dad. Later, Mark had an assist in Holy Angels' victory.

Barry DeLude didn't miss games, said Will Oester, whose son plays on the team.

Oester also said that members of the team had gone to the hospital earlier in the day.

The DeLude family is very active at the Church of Christ the King in Minneapolis, said the Rev. Dale Korogi.

"I visited Barry at the hospital," Korogi said. "The illness really knocked him down pretty quickly and traumatically."

He said DeLude was a soft-spoken man with a huge heart who "was so good to his family."

Nine firefighters were with DeLude and his family when he died, said Paul Baumtrog, captain of the fire company at Station 17. "His family was there as well as his fire family," he said. "I loved Barry like a brother."

The Minneapolis Firefighters Union holds an annual ski party, which was scheduled for this week, but it has been canceled because of DeLude's death, said union president Tom Thornberg. "We're devastated to lose a member," he added. "We're a very close group. We live together. He's truly one of our brothers."

jmarcotty@startribune.com • 612-673-7394 rfurst@startribune.com • 612-673-7382 mlerner@startribune.com • 612-673-7384

Here is the US flu report for Feb 10, the latest update is due and will probably show that this season's trend for the flu to spread north and west continues. That may be a second wave in the southeast. This bug started out unusually lethal, schools were closed and the mortality dropped quickly.

http://www.weather.com/activities/health/coldandflu/nationalreports/national.html

Within weeks it was everywhere, but the concentrated activity has been a wave, advancing across the nation at a jogger's pace.

Influenza Activity as Assessed by State and Territorial Epidemiologists*:

*: During week 6, the following influenza activity^†† was reported:

• Widespread activity was reported by 19 states (Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin).

• Regional activity was reported by 14 states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, and Washington).

• Local activity was reported by New York City and 12 states (Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, West Virginia, and Wyoming).

• Sporadic activity was reported by the District of Columbia and five states (Mississippi, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont).

State confirms first flu death this season

By KAWANZA NEWSON
knewson@journalsentinel.com

Posted: Feb. 21, 2007

The Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services has confirmed its first flu death this season, in a Vilas County resident, officials said Wednesday. The agency is encouraging all residents to get a flu shot, especially young children, older adults, people with compromised immune systems and pregnant women.

The season began relatively slowly, but flu is now considered "widespread," meaning that more than 50% of the regions in the state have reported the infection. The majority of cases are in the south, southeast and western regions of the state.

Early this month, Milwaukee health officials investigated the death of a child that they thought was flu-related, but it turned out to be the result of sudden infant death syndrome.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 23, 2007 Last modified: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 8:10 AM CST Paris: Late season flu outbreak hits area A late-season flu bug has struck in Paris, causing high absentee rates in the school district and crowding at medical clinics. The outbreak is widespread enough that Cooper Clinic and North Logan Mercy Hospital employees have posted signs requesting that those with flu symptoms don surgical masks and use hand sanitizers when in the buildings. Dr. Jason Richey, a physician at the Cooper Clinic location in Paris, said it may be another week or two before the bug runs it course. "It's already slowed down some," Richey said last week. "It'll probably run its course within the next two weeks. It began the first of February and that's late in the flu season. I've only seen the flu hit one other time in February in the eight years I've been here." Richey said the flu season runs from November through February. According to the doctor, the symptoms are fever, body aches, chills, a cough and some vomiting. "The normal flu-type symptoms," Richey said. "The majority of the patients we're seeing are kids and parents of kids," Richey said. "Most patients are in their middle 30s and younger." The outbreak has been particularly prevalent in the Paris School District where absentee rates are running at about twice the normal levels, according to school employees. At Paris Elementary School, 87 of the school's 520 students were absent on Feb. 12. On Feb. 13, 70 students were reported absent. Christine Williams, the school nurse, said 35 absentees is normal. At Paris Middle School, absentee rates have averaged between 30 and 50 students since the end of January, according to school secretary Vicki Furstenberg. At Paris High School, 101 students were reported absent on Feb. 15 and 76 were absent on Feb. 16. The school normally has around 50 absentees per day, according to Principal Gary Montgomery. Williams, Furstenberg and Montgomery attributed the high absentee rates to the flu or flu-like symptoms. "We've only had 15 students positively diagnosed with the flu," Williams said. "A lot of kids are showing flu-like symptoms. We've also got a stomach bug going around." "We're seeing a lot of the same symptoms as the flu," Montgomery said. The outbreak has also caused an increased in patients seeking treatment at the night Community Service Clinic run by North Logan Mercy Hospital, according to hospital Assistant Administrator Sharon Sorey. "We're seeing 12 to 15 people a night and five patients is probably normal," she said. "Most of these are people who aren't able to get in at Cooper Clinic." Richey said the outbreak is large enough to have exhausted Cooper Clinic's inventory of flu testing kits two or three times. He also added that those who got a flu shot aren't getting the flu. "Everyone we've seen are patients who didn't get a flu shot," Richey said. "This year's shot vaccinated for both Type A and B flu. We're seeing both types in patients who test positive for the flu but it's two to one for Type A." If a patient tests positive for the flu, and it's within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms, Richey is prescribing Tamiflu. If it's been longer than 48 hours, then antibiotics are added to the Tamiflu. Someone experiencing flu-like symptoms who tests negative for the flu is placed on antibiotics, told to get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids, Richey said. "75 percent of the people with flu symptoms are testing negative for the flu," Richey said. "I'd say most of the kids who are missing school are showing flu-like symptoms. "If you test positive for flu, the treatment will make you feel better within 24 to 36 hours," Richey said. "If you test negative and display flu-like symptoms, you'll feel better in 48 hours. "If you get no treatment at all, it'll take five to seven days to get over, depending on other conditions, such as a secondary infection," Richey said. Richey also added that since Monday was President's Day and schools were closed, the spread of the flu could slow down this week. "The more you're away from other people, the less it'll spread," he said. "But right now, in general, I'd say the numbers of sick people in Paris is pretty high."