The Minnesota Department of Health has reported a child’s death from the flu, a first in the state during a relatively mild season.
“We were of the belief that there would be no [child’s] death this season. Unfortunately, there is one,” said Doug Schultz, a Department of Health spokesman. “We hope this is the last one.”
The child’s death was revealed in the state’s Influenza & Respiratory Activity Report for the week ending April 6. It did not identify the child or the location of his or her death.
Officials have said the flu strain circulating in Minnesota is weaker in the 2018-2019 season than what the state witnessed in 2017-2018, when one of the worst flu outbreaks resulted in 435 deaths, including five children.
Since October, the flu has claimed the lives of 69 adults in the state.
