His death followed the death of a 6-year-old girl in Cuyahoga County, a 7-year-old girl in Fulton County and a 6-year-old boy from Columbiana County, who all died within the past several weeks, according to ODH, which said the deaths in Columbiana County were unrelated.
There was one flu-related pediatric death during last year’s flu season and six pediatric deaths in the previous flu season, ODH reported.
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The number of overall flu-related hospitalizations indicates the flu season might be leveling off, health officials said, although it’s impossible to know whether the flu virus is becoming more active or losing steam.
There were a total of 70 flu-related hospitalizations in the 10-county area tracked by the state health department for the week ending Saturday, according to the most recent figures from Public Health – Dayton & Montgomery County. But that was just one more than the total number of hospitalizations for the previous week, preliminary figures from the health department show.
Champaign County reported three hospitalizations, up from one flu-related hospital patient the week before. Clark County saw the number of flu-related hospitalizations cut nearly in half — from nine to five — over the same period.
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Greene County saw the biggest spike in flu-related hospitalizations in the area, rising from just one to 11.
There have been 42 flu-related hospitalizations in Clark County this flu season, a majority of which involved people ages 60 and older, Clark County Combined Health District Nursing Supervisor Kitty Smith said.
“I don’t know if we’re at our hump or if we’re going to see increases,” she said.
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Last year, Clark County saw 65 hospitalizations for the entire flu season, Smith said, the majority of which hit in late February and March.
“There were very few in the early part of the season (last year),” she said.
It’s likely Clark County will surpass last season’s totals, Smith said. The health district has seen a consistent number of cases coming from local pediatricians and urgent care facilities that didn’t involve hospitalization, she said.
“The numbers are steady,” Smith said. “There are people out there who are sick. They’re getting tested, which is good. It means they’re following up.”
Residents should get a flu shot and regularly wash their hands to avoid becoming sick during the flu season, she said.
Statewide, there were 396 flu-related hospitalizations in Ohio during the week ending Feb. 4 — the most recent week for which statewide figures are available. The state number also was just one more than the number of cases reported in the previous week.
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