First child flu death in King County — since 2009

A King County child died of complications from influenza in a Pierce County Hospital on Sunday, according to King County-Seattle Public Health.

It is the first reported death of a King County child from influenza since 2009.

Public health officials said the elementary school-age child was previously healthy. They wouldn't provide any other details, and a spokesperson for Tacoma-based hospital chain Multicare did not respond to requests for comment.

"This is a really tragic reminder of how serious influenza infections can be,” Jeff Duchin with Public Health Seattle-King County said at a press conference on Wednesday. “This season, in particular, we’re seeing a virus that’s impacting children particularly hard."

Flu season kicked off early in Washington this year, with cases starting to spike by mid-November, and with a type of influenza — a strain of “B/Victoria” virus — that we haven't seen in many years, according to Duchin.

Duchin said this strain of flu is unlikely to kill an otherwise healthy person, but it can happen.

Five adults in the state have died from the flu in recent weeks, according to the Washington Department of Health.

Washington state currently has the highest level of influenza-like illness of any western state, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC estimates that this flu season has already seen at least 2.6 million flu illnesses nationwide, 23,000 hospitalizations and 1,300 deaths from flu.

Duchin urged anyone at least six months old to get a flu vaccination.

He said the currently available flu vaccine is effective against four different types of the virus, including the B/Victoria strain now going around.

“Thank you all for coming,” Duchin ended his press conference. “I hope you’re all vaccinated.”

Disclosure: This reporter got his flu vaccine in November.