Flu Blamed for Another Child’s Death in MN

The Minnesota Department of Health is reporting the state’s fourth pediatric flu-related death of the season.

The department’s weekly update on flu activity shows it remained classified as “widespread” last week, although the number of flu-related hospitalizations declined for a third straight week. The total number of hospitalizations since the start of the season is now approaching 1,000.

No school outbreaks were reported because classes were not in session, but there were 29 flu outbreaks reported by nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. That was 3 higher than the total from the previous week.

The data from two other key measures of flu activity were mixed. There was an increase in the percentage of people seeking care at outpatient clinics with flu-like symptoms, while the percentage of tested specimens that came back positive for influenza dropped.