Six children in B.C. have died this season from flu-related illness: B.C. CDC

The number is high for a province where typically fewer than three children a year die from influenza.

B.C. health officials say least six kids have died in B.C. this season from flu-related illness. The number is high for a province where typically fewer than three children a year die from influenza.

In an emailed statement, the B.C. Centre for Disease and Control said it is aware of six reports of influenza-associated deaths among children and youth, under the age of 19.

Early findings indicate some of the children experienced secondary bacterial infections contributing to severe illness which can be a complication of influenza, the B.C. CDC said.

Officials stressed that death associated with flu in previously healthy children continues to be rare.

Public health is monitoring the situation closely, the agency said, and is reminding people of the steps they can take to prevent themselves, their children and their loved ones against the flu.

Ryan Panton, a spokesperson for the BC Coroners Service, provided emailed statistics on flu deaths in children in B.C. The data show between 2015 and 2019, there were two to three influenza-related deaths in people aged 18 or younger every year.

In 2020, the province recorded one flu-related death in a child, while none were recorded in 2021, according to the coroner’s data.

On Monday, health officials warned that after two years of COVID-19 restrictions, young children and other vulnerable people are at higher risk of getting very sick from the flu this season.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said this year’s flu strain — influenza A or H3N2 — has been tough on younger kids, sometimes leading to secondary infections that cause serious complications and, in rare cases, “tragic outcomes.”

Community fundraisers have been set up for at least two families —  Cabana and Loseth — who recently lost daughters, ages six and nine, to complications from the flu.

The B.C. CDC says vaccination is particularly important for children at highest individual risk of severe outcomes such as those with chronic medical conditions or weak immune systems.

Kids are also being affected by the respiratory syncytial virus, known as RSV. And nearly three years into the pandemic, COVID is still circulating, including among children.

Henry said RSV has been treated in some children in B.C. but the numbers aren’t as high as in some other parts of Canada.

·More to come…

ticrawford@postmedia.com

—with files from Joe Ruttle