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Mass. six-year-old dies from flu

Email|Link|Comments (3) Posted by Gideon Gil March 6, 2008 04:30 PM

By Stephen Smith, Globe Staff

A 6-year-old Suffolk County child has died from influenza, health authorities announced today. The child, who died last weekend, suffered from a number of other health woes, which likely intensified the effects of the viral illness.

Most flu seasons, no more than two youths in the state die from the respiratory infection. The last fatal case of flu in a Massachusetts youth was in March 2006, when a 2-year-old from Boston died. Nationally, about two dozen children have died from the disease this flu season.

Adults and children with chronic medical conditions are most likely to suffer life-threatening complications from the flu. Federal health authorities estimate that each year, 36,000 Americans die from flu or its complications, principally the elderly.

This flu season in New England has been significantly more intense than the previous two years, although authorities from the state Department of Public Health said today that the number of cases peaked the week of Feb. 17 and has eased since then.

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3 comments so far...

I very much appreciate the mention of other health issues that contributed to this sad event, Often, health status is skipped, leading to more panic than necessary.

Posted by Alison March 6, 08 06:57 PM

What else did this child suffer from???? It's not ok to not say what!

Posted by gjw ri March 6, 08 07:19 PM

The Department of Public Health, citing patient confidentiality, would not say what other health conditions this child had.

Posted by Gideon Gil, Health and Science Editor March 6, 08 08:28 PM

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Elizabeth Cooney is a former health reporter for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, where she also was a business reporter and an editor. Earlier in her career, she edited medical books and journals at Little, Brown, and worked for Boston magazine.