SAN DIEGO–A 14-year-old girl with an underlying medical condition died from influenza last week and is the first San Diego County child to die from the flu this season, the County Health and Human Services Agency said Wednesday.
The teenager from San Diego died Feb. 12 from influenza A Pandemic H1N1. She had not gotten this season’s flu vaccine. There were two pediatric flu deaths last season and two during the 2016-17 season.
“Pediatric influenza deaths are very unfortunate. Our condolences go out to the family,” said Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County public health officer. “It is extremely important that people get vaccinated because influenza can be deadly.”
The teenager is one of five flu deaths reported last week. The other deaths were four men—ages 82, 73, 62 and 56. All four had underlying medical conditions, and only the 82-year-old and the 56-year-old had been vaccinated.
To date, 35 San Diegans have died from influenza this season. A total of 268 had died from the flu at the same time last year.
A total of 539 lab-confirmed flu cases were reported last week, the highest weekly total of the season. When the specific influenza type was reported, the majority were influenza A Pandemic H1N1, which has been true throughout the season.
Typically, the Pandemic H1N1 virus sickens younger people more than others because younger and middle-aged adults have not been exposed to the H1N1 virus as much as older adults, and these groups typically have the lowest vaccination rates in the nation.
“Influenza continues to be widespread. If you have not gotten a flu shot, do it now,” Wooten added.
The County Health and Human Services Agency publishes the weekly Influenza Watch report, which tracks key flu indicators and summarizes influenza surveillance in the region. All other indicators are at expected levels for this time of year.
