A 6-year-old southeast Kansas child has died from the H1N1 virus, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced Wednesday.
The virus was confirmed Aug. 25, and the child's death was reported to the state health department on Sept. 3.
The department said the child was the second person to die from H1N1 in Kansas. On Aug. 6, the state reported the first death from H1N1, a middle-aged man from Sedgwick County who had a chronic medical condition, and H1N1 was listed as a contributing factor in his death.
Missouri announced in May that a St. Louis County man, 44, died after coming down with a severe case of H1N1 flu.
In Kansas, officials declined to release further information about the child, including in which county the child resided. "We really value confidentiality," said Maggie Thompson of the health department.
Kansas state health officer Jason Eberhart-Phillips offered his condolences to the family. He also told Kansans the virus should be taken seriously.
"We know that this virus infects children at a higher rate than adults, and today's sad news makes that point painfully clear," he said in a release. "While the majority of people experience mild illness, this child's tragic death reminds all of us of the importance of working towards preventing further spread and receiving the H1N1 vaccine as soon as it becomes available."
Health officials said that more than 1 million Americans are thought to be infected with the virus. Cases have been confirmed in 53 Kansas counties.
To reach Dawn Bormann, call 816-234-7704 or send e-mail to dbormann@kcstar.com To see more of The Kansas City Star, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.kansascity.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Kansas City Star, Mo. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Copyright (C) 2009, The Kansas City Star, Mo.