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2h ago

CDC Tallies 109 Pediatric Flu-Linked Encephalopathy Cases and 280 Deaths in 2024–25

Experts say low uptake left children vulnerable.

Beckett Wear, age 4, has been hospitalized twice with acute necrotizing encephalitis.
Sick little schoolgirl coughs and blows nose wiping with white paper napkin.

Overview

  • New CDC data from clinicians and health departments identify 109 pediatric influenza-associated encephalopathy cases last season, about one-third classified as acute necrotizing encephalopathy.
  • Clinical severity was high: 74% required ICU care, 54% needed ventilation, and 19% died, with 55% previously healthy.
  • Pediatric mortality reached 280 flu deaths, the highest in any non-H1N1 season since 2004.
  • Vaccination gaps were stark, with 84% of IAE patients with known status and 90% of the children who died not vaccinated, while overall coverage fell to 49.2%.
  • Because ANE/IAE are not routinely tracked, clinicians called for formal surveillance after January reports of fatal cases, noting the apparent surge cannot yet be quantified.