Third MA Child To Die From Flu Was Lowell Girl

LOWELL, MA – A Lowell girl is believed to be the third child to die from the flu in Massachusetts this season. The father of 4-year-old Puthiraskmey Sopheak told WCVB the family took her to the hospital last week when she had a 99-degree fever and started coughing blood. He said they were sent home and told to give her Tylenol.

Sopheak initially seemed better until Saturday, when her health worsened and she was readmitted to the hospital. She died later that day.

Sopheak's father said he is awaiting the official cause of death from the medical examiner's office and wonders if she could have contracted something else in Cambodia, where she arrived from in September.

His Facebook page had a photo of his daughter, with the caption "I miss you my baby."

In a statement to WCVB, the hospital offered condolences to her family but could not comment further.

Sopheak is the second girl from Middlesex County to die from the flu this season. A 12-year-old boy from Milford also died from it.

There was only one pediatric flu-related death in Massachusetts last year. More than 9,000 cases of the flu have been confirmed across Massachusetts this season, according to the state.

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