Flu Kills Two Minnesota Children

By Jeremy Olson, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

Feb. 8–Two more children with influenza have died, the Minnesota Department of Health reported today, raising the total this flu season to three.

The latest deaths involved an 8-year-old and a 17-month-old, one of whom lived in the Twin Cities area. Last week, the health department reported the death of an 8-year-old in Ramsey County, which at the time was the first child-related death from influenza in two years.

None of the victims had received flu shots this year, and health officials renewed their appeal to parents to vaccinate children. Vaccine remains in ample supply, and organizations such as Children’s Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota and the Visiting Nurse Association have organized special flu shot clinics following the news of the first death.

“While these deaths do not necessarily suggest that there is anything unusual about this season’s flu, they serve to underscore that influenza always has the potential to be a very serious illness, even a killer,” said Minnesota Health Commissioner Dianne Mandernach.

The deaths took place between Jan. 18 and Feb. 1, which is typically when the flu season reaches or nears its peak. All three had an A strain of the virus that is covered by this year’s vaccine.

While an estimated 36,000 deaths are related to influenza each year, relatively few involve children, said Kris Ehresmann, section chief of immunizations for the health department. Nationally, 13 children have died of the flu, which isn’t an unusual number, she said.

Jeremy Olson can be reached at jolson@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5583.

—–

Copyright (c) 2007, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.