The "super flu" seriously affects children - and some do not survive

Several countries reported their first flu deaths this week.

Flu season is in full swing, and it's already turning deadly for the most vulnerable Americans around: children.

Several states reported their first pediatric flu deaths this week.Cases and hospitalizations are also rising across the country, with some regions seeing record numbers of illnesses.The season is being driven by the emergence of an unexpected H3N2 flu strain known as subclass K.

Because of the holidays, the latest flu data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is almost two weeks old.But it's still clear that this season is shaping up to be an ugly one.

As of December 20, flu activity was high or very high in 32 US regions and moderate in eight other jurisdictions.The cumulative flu hospitalization rate for week 51 was also the third highest in 15 years (the other two seasons are 2022-23 and 2023-24).

For some states, things are even worse.Last week, for example, New York City health officials reported the largest weekly increase in flu cases ever recorded in modern history - 71,123 positive flu cases in the week of December 20.

At least eight child flu deaths this summer have also been recorded by the CDC so far, though local health officials and members of the public have since recorded more.

For example, on December 30, the Kentucky Department of Public Health reported the first influenza-related child death of the 2025–2026 season: a child in Kenton County who did not receive the flu vaccine.The next day, the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) reported the first influenza-related child death, involving a Greene County teenager.announced that his five-year-old son had died of a severe cold.

"This death is that our death and our heart went to the family," said Bruce Vandehoff, Official Life of Oho, in a language."It reminds us of us the usual, while it is usually average, a serious threat to health and we require their kids to prevent their kids."

Bad winter record?

Even during a typical winter, seasonal influenza sickens millions of Americans, hospitalizes hundreds of thousands, and kills tens of thousands.However, it's certainly possible that we have two bad seasons in a row.At least 280 children died from the flu in the United States last winter, the highest number of child deaths from a non-pandemic flu in modern history.

This season has been boosted by the emergence of subtype K, a variant of H3N2 that differs dramatically at the genetic level from the flu strains that scientists predicted would emerge this season.Since its arrival in late winter in the Southern Hemisphere, K has quickly taken over as the main cause of flu cases around the world, including in the United States. Although this variant does not appear to cause more severe infections on average than other H3N2 strains, it has caused severe, early, or prolonged attacks of the disease in various parts of the world, including Britain, Japan, Australia.

Although the seasonal flu vaccine is not subclade K, it's still worth it if you haven't already been vaccinated.Data from the UK showed that vaccination this season is still effective in preventing serious flu complications, particularly in children.