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A Florida child who had not received the influenza vaccine died of the flu virus, state officials said Monday, the first flu-related pediatric death in the country this season.
While influenza activity remains low across the United States, the Florida Department of Health said that a child had tested positive for one of the strains, B-flu, and died later. Health officials did not disclose the details of the death, including the child's age, sex or place of residence, but stated that the child did not have an underlying medical problem and died between September 30 and October 6.
The flu season, which starts and extends until winter, usually peaks during the colder months. The death was notable because it occurred before any significant outbreak in Florida or beyond, and even before many people even received the vaccine. Federal health officials recommend flu shots before the end of October.
It was unclear if the child had not been vaccinated against the flu on purpose or was expecting to receive it later in the season. A spokesman for the health department said that the state could not disclose more information about the case because of confidentiality issues.
"Although rare, these deaths occur each year, mostly in unvaccinated children with underlying health problems," spokesman Brad Dalton said in an email on Tuesday. "Annual vaccination is the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones from the flu and its potentially serious complications."
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Health officials in Florida said the death of the child does not necessarily predict a deadly flu season in that state. Last season, more than 80,000 Americans died of the flu, the highest number in more than a decade, recently announced federal health officials. Of this total, only 180 were infants and adolescents, including eight in Florida.
The most lethal strain of last season was H3N2, a subtype of the influenza A virus that is often the deadliest of the four typical seasonal strains. It is too early to know which strains of influenza A or B will become the deadliest this season, health officials said.
"The timing, severity and duration of influenza seasons vary," Florida officials said Monday in a statement, adding that the number of cases would increase in the coming weeks. "It's not possible to predict what will be the flu season 2018-1919 in Florida."
Although the Florida child is the first pediatric death reported in the country, about 30 adults died of the flu in the country in September and thousands more died from pneumonia, a frequent complication of the flu, according to the Centers. for Disease Control and Prevention. Before the child's death was announced Monday, the BC CD had not reported any flu-related deaths among children.
The flu vaccine in the US this year protects against at least three strains of flu, including two types of influenza A and influenza B, according to the C.D.C. Despite requests from health officials to be vaccinated, about 58 percent of children aged 6 months to 17 years did so last season, down two points from 2015-16. the federal government said.
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