A five year old central Nebraska girl has died after getting the flu. Lily Kershaw was from Genoa and in a Facebook post, officials at Twin River Elementary said "Heaven gained a beautiful angel. They say Lily was smart, kind loving little girl.
DHHS officials say Nebraska along with the rest of the nation is experiencing a severe flu season. “We started seeing increased flu activity earlier than usual this year and flu continues to circulate at very high levels,” says Dr. Tom Safranek, State Epidemiologist. “During a severe flu season, we see more illness, hospitalizations and sadly more deaths.”
Nationally, 30 children have died from flu this season according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While most children recover from the flu, some can have severe and sometimes fatal infections, but that has been rare in Nebraska. So far, there have been a total of 22 flu-related deaths statewide, 21 adults and one child.
Antiviral drugs like Tamiflu, prescribed by a health care provider, should be used as early as possible in people who have flu-like illness.