Flu-related illness claims the life of a fifth child in Ohio

A 5th child has died in Ohio from complication from the flu, according to the Ohio Department of Health, compared to just one flu-related pediatric death last year.

Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A 5th child has died in Ohio from complication from the flu, according to the Ohio Department of Health, compared to just one flu-related pediatric death last year.

A fifth child has died in Ohio from flu-related illness, the Ohio Department of Health confirmed Thursday.

A 9-year-old Marion county boy was the latest pediatric death reported during the current flu season, which began last September and generally peaks at this time of year.

All the child deaths, which are the only flu-related deaths reported to the health department, occurred this month. None have been reported in the Miami Valley.

Previously, the state health department reported the flu-related deaths of a 7-year-old boy from Columbiana County; 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. The deaths in Columbiana County were unrelated.