The Iowa Department of Public Health says it has confirmed the first child death in the state from the H-1-N-1 virus. Health Department medical director Patricia Quinlisk says the child died in eastern Iowa in October. Quinlisk says the child had some risk factors that put them at higher risk of having complications from the flu. Quinlisk says even though this child had higher risk factors, we need to be aware that there have been cases nationally where healthy children have died from H-1-N-1.
Doctor Quinlisk says H-1-N-1 does seem to be hitting kids harder than older adults.She says there have been many more deaths in children and would be expected from influenza, as she says the flu deaths are typically more common in the elderly. Quinlisk says with H-1-N-1 for reasons they don’t understand, people over 60 have not been as ill with H-1-N-1, while “we’ve had unfortunately quite a few children get very ill.”
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