Tarrant County Public Health Confirms First Pediatric Flu Death of 2023-2024 Season

Feb. 8, 2024 - (Tarrant County) - Tarrant County Public Health has confirmed the first pediatric flu death of this season. This is the first reported pediatric flu death in Tarrant County since the 2019-2020 season. There have been two other pediatric flu deaths reported in Texas in the current season.

The child had underlying medical conditions. Due to the sensitive nature of the information and to protect the family’s privacy, additional information will not be released.

Currently, influenza activity remains widespread across the county. Flu vaccines are available and provide the best protection against serious illness, hospitalization and death. In addition to vaccines and treatment, everyday precautions should be taken to protect children against respiratory viruses.

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick
• Stay home from work, school and errands when you are sick
• Cover your mouth with a tissue to contain coughing and sneezing
• Wash your hands often with soap and water
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth
• Clean and disinfect commonly touched surfaces

Flu is a contagious disease caused by the influenza virus - which can spread by coughing, sneezing, or nasal secretions. Everyone six months of age and older should get vaccinated. Vaccination is especially important for people at risk of severe influenza, including children under age two, persons over 65 years, pregnant women and persons with chronic conditions. Close contacts of children younger than six months should also be vaccinated, since younger infants cannot receive the vaccine.

For more information about flu, visit the Fight the Flu webpage. To learn more about current respiratory illness trends, visit our Tarrant County Respiratory Illness Dashboard.

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