The number of children who have died from swine flu has jumped sharply as the virus continues to spread widely around the United States, striking youngsters, teenagers, young adults and pregnant women unusually often, federal officials said Friday. This Story * H1N1 Deaths Among Youths Rise as Epidemic Spreads * SWINE FLU: Schools Begin Inoculation Drive * Full Coverage: The Swine Flu Outbreak
The deaths of another 19 children and teenagers from the new H1N1 virus were reported in the past week around the country, including two in Maryland, pushing to 76 the number of fatalities this year among those under 18, officials said. It was the largest number of pediatric deaths reported in a single week since the pandemic began in the spring.
"These pediatric deaths seem to be increasing substantially," said Anne Schuchat, who heads the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
While most of the children who have died have had other health problems that made them particularly vulnerable, such as asthma, muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy, 20 to 30 percent were otherwise healthy, Schuchat said.
Between 46 and 88 children died from the seasonal flu in each of the past four years, so the fact that so many have already succumbed is disturbing, Schuchat said.
"It's only the beginning of October," she said, noting that the flu season usually starts much later and runs through May. "We saw a peak of deaths, you know, starting April, May, June. It started to level off this summer. Now it's starting to shoot up again."
In addition to the two deaths in Maryland, three were reported in Tennessee, seven in Texas and one each in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.
Since the pandemic began, at least 3,873 Americans have died from complications associated with the flu, primarily the H1N1 virus, including at least 28 pregnant women.
The increase in pediatric deaths comes as the federal government's unprecedented vaccination campaign is just getting underway. Millions of doses of vaccine began arriving around the country this week.
It provided more reason why parents should get themselves and their children vaccinated against the virus, Schuchat said.
"Vaccine against flu is the best way to protect yourself . . . and those around you," she said.
The federal government has spent about $2 billion to buy at least 250 million doses of vaccine in the hopes of inoculating more than half the U.S. population, and it has pledged to buy enough to vaccinate everyone if there is sufficient demand.
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