This article appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Read more here.
A second Wisconsin child has died from the flu, and cases across the state have spiked so dramatically that there were 100 new hospitalizations on Thursday just by noon.
“This was a significant increase,” said respiratory disease epidemiologist Tom Haupt. “We’re not at peak activity. We probably won’t be for several weeks.”
State health officials said the child who died was in the southern region of Wisconsin and declined to offer any other information about the case. The two children have died since Oct. 1.
Health officials reported more than 500 flu hospitalizations this week.
The announcement about the influenza deaths and hospitalizations was made during an update by the Department of Health Services on the 2019 coronavirus, which has captured attention worldwide.
So far, only one person in Wisconsin has tested positive for the coronavirus. State health officials said the patient remains isolated and home and doing well.
Haupt pointed out that so far fewer than 5% of those tested for the coronavirus in the U.S. have turned out to have the virus. In Wisconsin, roughly one in three of those tested for influenza has tested positive. In particular, there has been an increase in people between the ages of 18 and 49 who have been hospitalized for flu.
Haupt said the state’s vaccination rate is now over 40%, still well below the 70% targeted by health leaders. He stressed that anyone who has not received this year’s flu vaccine should do so.