Second Massachusetts child died of flu-related illness

BOSTON – The Mbadachusetts Department of Public Health confirmed Friday that a second child from that state had died of a flu-related illness.

The most recent death to be confirmed was a girl from Middlebad County.

Boston 25 News reported for the first time Thursday that a 12-year-old student from Stacy Middle School in Milford had died as a result of a flu-related illness.

Both children died last week.

Public health officials said the cases did not seem related.

"January and February are usually the best of the influenza season, and flu-related complications can lead to a very serious illness that can be fatal or even fatal in children as well as adults," said Dr. Larry Madoff, Director of Epidemiology and Vaccination at the Bureau of Infectious Diseases and Laboratory Sciences of the Mbadachusetts Department of Public Health said. "These deaths are tragic and remind us of the dangers of influenza and the importance of influenza vaccination, our best protection against disease." The Department of Public Health urges people to get vaccinated, to wash their hands, to cough and sneeze and to stay at home when one is sick to limit the spread of the disease ".

Last year, a Mbadachusetts child died of an illness related to the flu.

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