Unusual flu season hitting kids in Tri-Cities. A Seattle child has died

Flu activity is among the highest in the nation in Washington state now, with the sudden increase in cases in Benton and Franklin County that began in late November persisting.

Across the nation the flu season took off sooner than usual and the strain of flu being reported, an influenza B virus, also is unusual for this early in the flu season.

The Centers for Disease Control reports that its most recent data, collected the week ending Dec. 7, shows Washington state has the highest flu activity of any state west of Texas and Nebraska.

Flu activity is usually not as high as it is now in the Tri-Cities area until January or February, said Dr. Amy Person, health officer of the Benton Franklin Health District.

In fact, there is more flu now than there was last year at the peak of the flu season, she said.

Last week reports of influenza in the two counties dropped slightly, but there can be week-to-week variations, she said, so it is too soon to say if that is significant.

Most of the testing being done in the Tri-Cities area does not show the type of flu a person has. However, the test results available that do give the virus type indicate cases of influenza B, she said.

In a typical year, cases of influenza A are reported early in the flu season with influenza B showing up later.

Child dies in Washington state

Anecdotally, many of the flu cases being reported seem to be in children, she said. Schools are reporting kids absent with symptoms their parents describe as typical of flu.

Wednesday, King County Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin announced that an elementary-school-aged child in King County had died from complications of the flu.

The child, who died in a Pierce County hospital on Sunday, had previously been healthy, he said.

“This death is a tragic reminder of how serious influenza can be, especially for young children, pregnant women, the elderly and people with long-term health conditions,” he said.

The Washington state Department of Health had previously reported five adults in the state had died this flu season, including an elderly man in Franklin County who died in October.

Influenza B strains typically cause more severe illnesses in children and A strains usually are more severe in adults, he said. However, both can cause serious illnesses in children and adults, he said.

Although he declined to say whether the child who died in the Seattle area had the flu vaccine, 80 to 90 percent of children who die with influenza complications are not vaccinated, he said.

See a doctor for flu symptoms

A second wave of flu likely is coming later in the season, this one with the Influenza A virus, according to researchers at the Biocomplexity Institute at the University of Virginia, who are working in a research partnership with AccuWeather.

“I suspect that A will start picking up at the end of December,” said Dr. Bryan Lewis with the University of Virginia.

Last flu season the Tri-Cities had two waves of flu, one in the winter and another in early spring.

It’s too early to say if that will happen again this year.

“The one thing I’ve learned about influenza is it does not like to follow anyone’s rules,” Person said.

But people who have not been vaccinated for the flu virus yet this season, could still benefit if there is a second wave of flu coming.

People most likely to develop serious complications from the flu — young children, adults over 65 and people with underlying health conditions — should see a health care provider as soon as possible for antiviral medication if they develop flu symptoms, Duchin said.

It could keep them from getting sicker and prevent complications or hospitalization, he said.

“Even healthy adults should not underestimate the impact (of) a flu infection,” Duchin said. “Influenza can make you miserably sick for a week or two, with fever, cough, weakness and body aches.”