7-year-old boy dies of new-flu infection

+

OTSU, Japan, Sept. 22 Kyodo -
A seven-year-old boy in Moriyama, Shiga Prefecture, died Monday of
influenza-related brain fever after being infected with the new H1N1 flu, the
prefectural office said Tuesday.
The boy became the youngest, and 18th, victim of the epidemic in Japan,
including suspected cases, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.
His case is also the first involving a brain fever associated with the new
strain of flu, it said.
The boy had previously suffered periodic fever syndrome, but the prefectural
office said it has yet to confirm a link between his previous illness and the
influenza-related brain fever.
The office said the boy came down with a fever Saturday morning and ran a
temperature of 40.6 degrees C on Sunday.
He tested positive for the influenza A virus in abbreviated tests and was
admitted to an intensive care unit at a prefectural hospital.
Doctors found the boy positive for the new H1N1 strain of influenza A in
detailed tests.
Before his death, a 12-year-old boy died in the city of Yokohama after being
infected with the new strain of flu, the then youngest victim and the first
minor to die of the strain in Japan. He had bronchial asthma.
==Kyodo