The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported a significant rise in the number of children dying from influenza, including dangerous and rare variations of the virus. There were 280 child flu deaths in the U.S. last year, a high other than during the H1N1 pandemic of 2009-2010. The rates of children being vaccinated against influenza have also fallen. Influenza-associated encephalopathy (IAE) is a rare, severe neurologic complication of influenza. It can lead to varying degrees of brain dysfunction. The new report says that 84 percent of children with IAE whose vaccination status was known were not vaccinated. “We don’t always know how to predict which kids are going to have the most severe forms of flu, which is why we recommend the vaccine for everyone,” Dr. Buddy Creech,

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