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Death Of Young Boy In TN Raises Questions About H1N1 Swine Flu
By KSFY News
Story Updated: Sep 15, 2009 at 6:14 PM CDT
According to the CDC more than a million americans have contracted H1N1 Swine Flu. Fewer than 600 have died. But the recent death of a healthy young boy in Tennessee has raised some concerns about the virus and kids. ABC'S David Muir filed this story.
It all began on a Friday. 5 year old Max Gomez began to get sick. His mother told the Tennessean newspaper, the next morning, her son woke up with a fever and that his temperature peaked at just over 102 degrees.
His parents suspected routine illness, an ear infection, or sore throat. Keeping him home from church to be safe. And doctors say a 102-degree fever is not in itself a red flag.
The next day,Sunday,that fever was gone and his parents told the newspaper he seemed better. But then on Monday, the boy's fever returned with the chills.
The mother took her son to a health clinic where even the doctor reportedly didn't note anything out of the ordinary but that evening at 6pm when the boy's fatigue became worrisome his parents took him to the hospital and less than three hours later, he died.
So sudden, so rare. And the parents said their boy had always been healthy. One doctor said, "Most of the children who are dying have an underlying medical condition, this is a very very rare situation."
With such a fast, and frightening timeline, could the parents, or doctors, have done anything differently? Should the boy have been given Tamiflu-- or other flu medications?
Right now, the CDC only recommends the drugs for children YOUNGER than five. Doctors simply calling for rest, fluids, and for parents to keep careful watch. Which is what these parents did.
And what about that *second* fever? can we learn anything from that? ABC News Medical Editor Dr. Richard Besser says a return fever could be a sign of a bacterial infection that could have set in on top of the flu which in rare cases, can be deadly, even if you take all the right steps.