Influenza-related Deaths in Young Children: Observations From a German Case Series.

IF 2.3 4区医学 Q3 IMMUNOLOGY

Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal Pub Date : 2026-10-01 Epub Date: 2026-06-05 DOI:10.1097/INF.0000000000005297

Julian A F Klein, Marianne Wedde, Ralf Dürrwald, Katharina Feld, Gerrit Dunke, Hans-Georg Kräusslich, Julia Gsenger, Julia Tabatabai

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Seasonal influenza virus infections remain a major public health burden. During the last years, several case reports of severe influenza infections in children have been published.

Cases: We report 4 fatal influenza cases in young children (2-6 years old) which occurred in Southwest Germany in the seasons 2022/23 and 2023/24. All 4 children were previously healthy; a forensic autopsy was conducted due to an unknown cause of death. Postmortem samples from the respiratory tract and organ tissues were tested for respiratory viruses via real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and analyzed by whole-genome sequencing.

Results: In 1 child, RT-PCR revealed influenza B virus, and 3 children died with influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 infection. No mutations associated with high virulence were detected. In 1 case, influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 could be cultivated in cell culture from brain tissue.

Conclusions: This case series underlines the potential risk of fatal outcomes of influenza infections in children. This should be considered when re-evaluating the vaccination recommendations for healthy children.

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幼儿流感相关死亡：来自德国病例系列的观察

背景：季节性流感病毒感染仍然是一个主要的公共卫生负担。在过去几年中，发表了几例儿童严重流感感染病例报告。病例：我们报告了德国西南部在2022/23和2023/24季节发生的4例2-6岁幼儿致命流感病例。所有4名儿童以前均健康；由于死因不明，进行了法医解剖。通过实时聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）检测呼吸道和器官组织的死后样本是否存在呼吸道病毒，并通过全基因组测序进行分析。结果：1例患儿RT-PCR检出乙型流感病毒，3例患儿死于甲型H1N1流感pdm09感染。未检测到与高毒力相关的突变。其中1例在脑组织细胞培养中可培养甲型H1N1流感病毒pdm09。结论：该病例系列强调了儿童流感感染的致命结果的潜在风险。在重新评估健康儿童的疫苗接种建议时，应考虑到这一点。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal 医学-传染病学

CiteScore

6.30

自引率

2.80%

发文量

566

审稿时长

2-4 weeks

期刊介绍： The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal® (PIDJ) is a complete, up-to-the-minute resource on infectious diseases in children. Through a mix of original studies, informative review articles, and unique case reports, PIDJ delivers the latest insights on combating disease in children — from state-of-the-art diagnostic techniques to the most effective drug therapies and other treatment protocols. It is a resource that can improve patient care and stimulate your personal research.