A Wisconsin child has died of influenza, state health officials announced Tuesday, marking a grim milestone in a particularly aggressive winter respiratory virus season that is showing few signs of letting up.
In a call with reporters Tuesday, Tom Haupt, the state Department of Health Service’s influenza surveillance coordinator, said the child was from Western Wisconsin. There was no evidence that the child had received a flu shot this year, Haupt said.
Nationwide, 30 children have died this flu season.
“DHS is saddened to report the first death of a child from influenza in Wisconsin this season,” said Dr. Ryan Westergaard, DHS’s chief medical officer and epidemiologist. “Flu cases are on the rise throughout the state, and it is important to take steps to protect ourselves and our loved ones. Flu vaccines are safe and effective, and we urge all eligible Wisconsinites to get their shot as soon as possible. It is the most powerful tool we have to prevent serious illness, hospitalization, and death during flu season.”
When including adults, at least 40 people had died of the flu this year as of Tuesday, Haupt said. On average, Wisconsin sees three to four pediatric flu deaths a year, Haupt said, though rates were lower during the COVID-19 pandemic because many of the same things that prevent the COVID-19 ― hand-washing, masking and social distancing ― help prevent the flu.
Children younger than 2 years old are at the highest risk of developing serious flu-related complications, but they can occur in children up to 5 years old, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those complications can include pneumonia, dehydration, brain dysfunction, sinus problems and ear infections, and the worsening of long-term medical problems like heart disease or asthma.
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Severe flu can also pose a risk to people who are pregnant, those older than 65, and those with chronic health conditions, according to the state Department of Health Services.
This year, in Wisconsin and nationwide, the flu season started weeks earlier than usual, with the number of cases rising quickly. The state health department’s most recent weekly respiratory virus surveillance report, released Monday with data from the week ending Dec. 10, showed the state’s flu activity levels have already surpassed the peaks of three of the previous four years, months early.
Health officials have been urging people to take precautions to curb what many have called a “tripledemic” of COVID-19, the flu, and respiratory syncytial virus, a common infection that usually causes mild cold-like symptoms but can be severe in infants and older adults.
State data shows the number of RSV cases has declined, but the rise in flu cases has essentially filled in that gap, meaning little relief for healthcare workers when it comes to overall disease burden.
But there may be one glimmer of hope: Haupt said state health officials are anticipating that because the season started so early this year, it will also peak early. While cases continue to climb, they are doing so at a slower rate than the past couple weeks, Haupt said. Hopefully, within a couple weeks, the cases rates will be on the decline, he said.
Still, with the holidays coming up, officials say now is the time to get vaccinated. Anyone older than 6 months is eligible for the vaccine.
“It just goes to tell people that this is a very severe year,” Haupt said.
CDC officials said earlier this month that initial data shows this year’s flu vaccine is “a very good match” to the strain that’s circulating.
Only 1 in 3 Wisconsinites had gotten their annual flu shot as of Thursday, state data shows.
“Two out of three people in Wisconsin have not been vaccinated. Those numbers are several percentage points lower than what we had last year, and that’s very disappointing, to be honest with you,” Haupt said. “We need to get people vaccinated.”
Find where to get a flu shot by visiting vaccines.gov, or calling 211 or 877-947-2211.
Contact Devi Shastri at 414-224-2193 orDAShastri@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at@DeviShastri.
