Loganville 7-Year-Old Girl Dies From Flu

LOGANVILLE, GA — A Walton County family said their "sweet, precious seven-year-old is now with Jesus after her fight with the flu" ended on Thursday.

Emily Maddox spent the week at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston. She was life flighted to Egleston Tuesday night when her liver started to fail. She went into complete liver failure and was put on dialysis and placed on the top of the transplant list before passing away on Thursday.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to pay for the little girl's funeral.

The funeral service was Monday at Chapel of Tim Stewart Funeral Home, Snellville. She was buried at Hill Haven Memory Gardens, in Monroe.

"Her little heart was so overworked she went into cardiac arrest and passed away," reads the GoFundMe page. "Her sudden loss leaves the family in need of financial help with her funeral expenses. Any amount given will be greatly appreciated."

Emily was a student at Youth Elementary School in Walton County. The district sent a letter to parents letting them know about her death.

"This loss is sure to raise many emotions, concerns and questions for our entire school, especially our students," said Susan Enfinger, Youth Elementary School principal in the letter to parents.

Enfinger said a Crisis Intervention Team will be available for students and teachers.

"We are saddened by the loss to our school community and will make every effort to help you and your child as you need," she said. "We extend our thoughts and condolences to this family at this difficult time."

The flu is still sending more Georgians to hospitals this month as the virus' death toll reaches 79 as of Feb. 10, up from 66 deaths the week before. Including Emily Maddox, the flu has taken the lives of at least four Georgia children.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that 19,398 people have been hospitalized so far this season for influenza-associated reasons. Eighty-four pediatric deaths nationwide have been reported.

The most frequently identified flu virus subtype reported by public health laboratories was influenza A(H3), a particularly aggressive and highly contagious strain.

Young kids and senior citizens are most likely to be hospitalized for the flu this year. Of every 100,000 kids, 36 are being hospitalized for the flu, and of every 100,000 seniors, a staggering 298 are hospitalized. By comparison, kids age 5 to 17 are hospitalized for the flu at a rate of eight per 100,000.

This graphic from the CDC shows that as of Feb. 9, we were seeing a much higher hospitalization rate across the United States than the same time in previous seasons, at a rate of 59.9 per 100,000. There is no current graphic, but now, that number stands at 67.9 per 100,000.

In Georgia, 15.8 percent, or about one-in-six, of outpatient visits were due to influenza-like illnesses. This is almost doubled from the first week of January, when under 7 percent of visits were due to the flu.
The flu is widespread in 48 states and Puerto Rico, according to the CDC. Oregon is still experiencing regional flu activity, while Hawaii has been downgraded to local flu activity.

The best protection against the flu is vaccination, and health officials have been stressing that it's not too late to get a flu shot. A CDC spokesperson told Patch that as of Jan. 2, 152.1 million doses of the flu vaccine have been distributed. Private manufacturers who produce the vaccine originally predicted that as many as 166 million doses of injectable flu vaccine would be made available for the current flu season.

Vaccine shortages have been reported in some areas as the flu season drags on. The best way to find pharmacies providing the vaccine is to check at Vaccine Finder. The website reminds people to call and check with a vaccine provider location to ensure that the vaccine is available.

A representative for Vaccine Finder said the website does not offer a tool that shows whether the vaccine is available at a particular pharmacy; thus the warning notification on the website.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo courtesy GoFundMe