Latest news with #Hflu
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Indiana boy, 8, dies within hours of catching terrifying infection at school that spread to his brain
A mother is sharing her grief to warn others about a rare bacterial infection that killed her son within hours of symptoms starting. Little Liam Dahlberg, eight, from Indiana, complained of a headache after coming home from school last month — the next day he was dead. He was diagnosed with haemophilus influenzae, also known as H. flu, which had spread to his brain and spinal cord. His mother Ashlee said she felt 'indescribable pain' as she lay with Liam during his final moments and the medical team turned off his life support. Despite sounding like the flu, haemophilus influenzae is a bacterium – not a virus – and infections are much rarer and deadlier. It can live harmlessly in the nose and throat of many healthy people, but under certain conditions — like a weakened immune system or another viral infection like a cold — it can get into the bloodstream, spread and cause the body to attack healthy organs. Ashlee told local news station 13wmaz: 'I would never wish this kind of pain on my worst enemy ever. It's hard. To have sat there and listened to the doctors say, "You did everything right, there's just nothing we could do." '[And] to lay there with him as they took him off life support, I could feel his little heartbeat fade away — there's no words that can describe that pain.' The family is still unsure how Liam caught the infection — he had been fully vaccinated against H. flu as part of his routine childhood vaccinations. The vaccine — given over three doses to babies — is about 95 percent effective at preventing infections. Yet Liam came home from school unwell in April. When his headache did not subside, his family took him to hospital the following morning. Ashlee told local news: 'They took him to an MRI. That's when they discovered the amount of bacteria that was covering his brain and spinal cord. 'Basically at that point in time, there was nothing they could do.' The infection had spread and caused meningitis, inflammation of the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord. The damage was so rapid and severe he was declared brain dead. In a GoFundMe set up to help cover the medical costs, his family described Liam as 'a bright and smart young boy, full of life and potential.' 'His presence brought joy and warmth to everyone he met,' the page adds. Doctors suspect Liam may have suffered a breakthrough infection after catching it from an unvaccinated child at school who was carrying high levels of the bacterium. H. flu lives in the noses of healthy people and spreads when people sneeze or cough. Until the rollout of a vaccine in 1985, the infection used to cause 20,000 serious infections per year in the US — mostly in children under 5. Today there are fewer than 50 cases per year in young children — nearly all in unvaccinated or partially-vaccinated kids. But uptake of the shot has fallen in recent years, linked to a broader mistrust of vaccines. Ashlee is urging parents to make sure their children are all fully vaccinated.
Miami Herald
29-05-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
8-year-old boy contracts H flu and dies within 20 hours. ‘Nothing they could do'
An 8-year-old boy contracted a bacterial infection from a classmate and died within 20 hours, his Indiana mom said. Ashlee Dahlberg, of Lowell, is now imploring parents to vaccinate their children following the April 28 death of her son, Liam Dahlberg. She told WTHR her immunocompromised son complained about a headache when he returned home from school. When he was taken to a hospital the next morning, an MRI uncovered 'bacteria that was covering his brain and spinal cord,' the mother said. 'At that point in time, there was nothing they could do,' Dahlberg told WTHR. Liam had contracted H flu, also known as Haemophilus influenzae or Hib. The disease developed into a meningitis infection, a loved one said in a GoFundMe. Liam, described in the GoFundMe as a 'bright and smart young boy... full of life and potential,' was declared brain dead within 20 hours following the onset of his symptoms, his mother said in a Facebook post. 'To sit there and be told my son was a 1 in a million case and that he was basically handed his death card the minute he came into contact with that UNVACCINATED child, who is a carrier because of the simple fact he/she is UNVACCINATED, makes me sick,' Dahlberg said. Haemophilus influenzae bacteria live in people's noses and throat, and while they don't typically cause harm, they can travel across the body and pose danger, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The bacteria is spread to others when people breathe in small respiratory droplets that are created when an infected person coughs or sneezes, the CDC says. Health officials say the best way to prevent H flu is to get vaccinated, as the CDC recommends all children younger than 5 to receive a vaccination for the disease. It's why Dahlberg has created a petition asking for religious exemptions for school immunizations to be eliminated. 'We must act swiftly and decisively to prevent further tragedies,' she said in the petition. 'Ensuring that all children in public schools are vaccinated, barring medical exemptions, protects not only those children but all members of society.' Liam was a third grade student at Lake Praire Elementary School in Lowell, according to an obituary. Lowell is about a 135-mile drive northwest from Indianapolis.
