A 10-year-old boy has died during a school sports trip just days after being diagnosed with the flu, pneumonia, and sepsis.
Nico Mallozzi, of New Canaan in Connecticut, had been sick and bed-bound all weekend during the hockey tournament in Buffalo, New York, forcing him to miss every game.
Eventually, he was hospitalized and diagnosed with Influenza B, which had developed into pneumonia and caused sepsis.
He died on Sunday morning in a Buffalo hospital.
Nico’s death was mourned by Martin St Louis, a retired top National Hockey League player from Connecticut, who tweeted a photo of them together, adding: ‘Life is so fragile. This great kid lost his life today. My heart aches for his parents and siblings. I can’t even imagine. RIP Nico’
Tragic: Nico, 10, died on Sunday after a short battle with the flu, pneumonia and sepsis
Retired NHL player Martin St Louis tweeted a tribute to Nico
‘When a young student passes away like this unexpectedly,’ Dr Bryan Luizzi, superintendent of the school district in New Canaan, told WFSB on Tuesday.
‘It’s very, very tough.
‘He was absolutely a hockey player, his whole family, they’re hockey players. But, Nico was a very lively, vibrant spirited kid.’
Dr Luizzi added that anyone who had contact with Nico or his brother, who was with him on the trip, should closely monitor their health and consider taking Tamiflu.
Nico is hardly the first child to fall victim to this year’s deadly flu season. More than 20 children have died, according to CDC figures released last Friday, as well as more than 85 adults.
Since then, scores more deaths have been declared, and many are hospitalized.
The flu epidemic has struck the entire mainland US at the same time and in similar levels.
Influenza activity is now widespread in all states except Hawaii with the deadly virus.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that two strains of influenza viruses are being reported across the country, including H3N2 and H1N1.
But new B-virus strains – such as the one which infected Nico – are beginning to emerge.
‘This is a bad flu season,’ said Dr Dan Jernigan, the director of the CDC’s influenza branch said on Friday as he briefed reporters on the latest statistics.
‘Flu is everywhere in the US right now. There’s lots of flu in lots of places.
‘This is the first year we had the entire continental US be the same color on the graph meaning there’s widespread activity in all of the continental US at this point.’
While this year’s epidemic is still shy of the devastating death toll seen in 2014/2015, officials warn the rate of cases is severe, and this season looks set to be the second-worst on record.
The rate of cases for the deadly H3N2 virus is quadruple that of previous years, and hospitalizations have doubled in the last week as the outbreak reaches its ‘peak’.
‘What we’re seeing is the season has started early and that it’s probably peaking right about now,’ Dr Jernigan said.
He said the flu activity looked a lot like the flu epidemic of 2014-2015 where the H3N2 strain was predominant.
‘(It’s) a strain that’s, like was mentioned, is going to be associated with more cases and it’s going to be associated with more hospitalizations, and it is associated with more deaths,’ he said.
Influenza activity is now widespread in all states except Hawaii with the deadly virus already claiming the lives of more than 85 adults and 20 children this flu season
This graph, released on Friday by the CDC, shows the rate of hospitalizations per flu season. This year (in red) appears to be surging higher than the deadly 2014/15 year, but experts warn this could slope down in the same way
Uniquely, this year baby boomers appear to be as vulnerable to the virus as the usual victims – infants and the elderly.
Of the reported cases across the country, mostly everyone is suffering from the H3N2 strain at the moment, but officials have warned that the H1N1 strain is also hitting.
‘We are seeing H1N1, which is one the other influenza viruses starting to show up in states that have already had H3 activity, so it’s possible we may have a pretty robust season, not just with H3, but with the others as well, and, therefore, a good reason to go ahead and get vaccinated if you have not,’ Dr Jernigan said.
Many flu seasons don’t really get going until around Christmas and don’t crescendo until February.
This season got off to an early start and cases surged over the holidays.
A 40-year-old mother-of-three was one of the many victims to die from the virus in California. Katie Denise Oxley Thomas, who was a marathon runner, died on January 2 after battling the flu for 48 hours.
A 10-year-old boy also died in Chicago on New Year’s Eve after the virus attacked his heart.
Kyler Baughman, 21, was a aspiring personal trainer who died in Pennsylvania when the flu eventually led to organ failure and septic shock.
THE AMERICAN VICTIMS WHO DIED OF THE FLU THIS SEASON
Jonah Smith, 17, died December 29, 2017, when his heart stopped beating in the backseat of his sister’s car.
His family said he showed no flu-like symptoms except he had complained of a backache, but continued to go to work at a fast-food restaurant and see friends.
After his death, doctors confirmed that the teen from Arizona had the flu and pneumonia and believe he may have suffered from an underlying medical condition, though he was never known to have one.
Kyler Baughmen, 21, became sick on December 23, 2017, with a mild cough and runny nose.
He celebrated Christmas and went back to work December 26, but the following day was rushed to the hospital.
He died on December 28 from kidney failure due to septic shock caused by the flu.
Jenny Ching, 51, went to the hospital in Massachusetts with flu-like symptoms.
After being diagnosed with the flu she developed an infection and pneumonia.
The mother-of-two died on January 6, 2018, just a week after being diagnosed.
Jonah Rieben, four, died on January 6, 2018, just hours after first showing symptoms, making him the first child to die from the flu in Ohio this season.
The boy who loved to play with his 16 adoptive siblings was born with Noonan syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes heart defects and developmental delays. Doctors are still investigating if his condition contributed to his death.
Jonah’s older brother, who also suffers from a disorder, is in the hospital with a severe case of the flu.
Nico Mallozzi, 10, of New Canaan in Connecticut, had been sick and bed-bound all weekend during the hockey tournament in Buffalo, New York, forcing him to miss every game.
Eventually, he was hospitalized and diagnosed with Influenza B, which had developed into pneumonia and caused sepsis.
He died on Sunday January 14, 2018, in a Buffalo hospital.