3 months ago
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FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - Tuesday, the Fresno County Public Health Department reported the first pediatric deaths related to the flu and RSV.
The children were precise young. The babe who died from the flu was 13 months aged and was not vaccinated. The babe who died from RSV was a 17-month-old boy; it's chartless if the kid was vaccinated.
"This is heartbreaking for america to denote this to the nationalist simply due to the fact that it could person been avoided," said Leticia Berber, Health Educator for the Fresno County Department of Public Health.
She says it's uncommon to spot pediatric deaths truthful precocious successful the flu season.
"When we spot deaths during the flu season, we usually spot it aft the holidays, aft Thanksgiving, aft December," Berber said.
As of now, Fresno County has reported a full of 18 flu-related deaths. This includes the 1 pediatric case, 4 individuals aged 18 to 64, and 13 radical who were 65 and older. In the past flu play successful Fresno County, determination were 26 flu-related deaths, 2 of which were children.
"It does look to beryllium a longer flu play than normal. Typically, arsenic you're getting person to the extremity of March, opening of April, we don't spot arsenic galore cases. I was successful the session yesterday and had a fig of kids trial affirmative for flu and adjacent 1 travel successful with immoderate complications, including musculus inflammation from the flu," said Valley Children's Dr. Carmela Sosa, M.D.
Not lone is this year's flu play trending longer, but Dr. Sosa besides says that determination has been an summation successful inpatient and exigency patients for flu and RSV this year.
"We cognize wide that vaccine rates are down successful children from erstwhile years," she said.
Dr. Sosa advises parents to get their babies vaccinated for RSV earlier October. The vaccine is simply a one-time dose. For the flu, children six months and younger cannot person a vaccine, but radical astir them tin support them by getting vaccinated.
"It's not excessively precocious to get vaccinated," Berber said.
Bereber reminds the nationalist that the RSV and flu vaccines are escaped for those nether 18 years old. She says they're disposable astatine the wellness department, section clinics, oregon doctors' offices.
