Author: Ashley Welch / Source: valleynewslive.com
CBS NEWS In a tragic story that’s making headlines across the country: A fourth-grade girl from Ohio died just one day after being diagnosed with strep throat and influenza.
According to a Facebook post from Mason City Schools, Sable Gibson was diagnosed Tuesday morning, went into cardiac arrest Tuesday afternoon and died Wednesday evening.
Also this week, reports came in of a New Jersey toddler who died from the flu earlier this month.
While this year’s flu season has been milder overall than last year’s, to date 41 children have died across the country from flu-related causes.
The number of flu-related deaths varies widely from year to year, but even during a relatively mild flu season the illness claims thousands of lives. The CDC reports that over a three-decade period starting in the mid-1970s, the number of flu deaths in the U.S. ranged from a low of about 3,000 a year to as many as 49,000 in a bad year.
Last year’s flu season was particularly deadly, claiming the lives of more than 80,000 Americans, including a record 185 children.
While most people will recover from a bout with the flu, complications can arise, some of which can be severe or fatal. The illness can turn deadly for anyone, but it is most dangerous for adults over the age of 65 and children under the age of 5.
How can the flu lead to death?
The influenza virus itself can lead to death if it leads to serious breathing problems and severe dehydration. However, the more common scenario is a complication from the infection, explains Dr. Claire Bocchini, an infectious disease specialist at Texas Children’s Hospital.
She says bacterial pneumonia is the most common complication from the flu that leads to death.
“This happens because the flu virus injures the lungs and causes inflammation that then makes it easier for bacteria to invade…
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