An 18-month-old boy has died in the first reported death this season associated with a flu virus which has been circulating in the State since September.
The child died early this week in Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Dublin, despite efforts of doctors to save him, The Irish Times has learned.
The boy, who is from the South Eastern Health Board region, had been transferred to its intensive care unit from another hospital earlier this month.
Dr Darina O'Flanagan, director of the National Disease Surveillance Centre (NDSC), confirmed to The Irish Times that the young boy had died as a result of infection with the Fujian strain of Influenza A.
Dr O'Flanagan emphasised that deaths related to Influenza A are extremely rare. "We encourage everyone in the at risk categories to get influenza vaccination," she said.
"The message remains that most children and young adults will make a full recovery from influenza."
This strain, A/Fujian/41/2002, has been responsible for an unusually early outbreak of flu in the Republic since September.
The same viral strain is known to have caused the death of approximately six children and young adults in Britain in the last two months.
According to Dr Karina Butler, consultant in paediatric infectious diseases at Our Lady's Hospital, the boy originally presented with a high fever and seizures.
"This is an extremely rare but recognised complication of influenza infection," she reported.
Dr Butler said the deceased was not a child who had had flu for days and then got sick. "He had an initial catastrophic presentation in the form of seizures," she explained.
She confirmed that the 18-month-old did not have a chronic disease. "The child had no identified immunological abnormality," she said.
It is understood the child was extremely ill from first presentation and that he died of multi-organ failure.
Asked if the death of a young boy with no history of chronic disease would prompt a review of vaccination guidelines, Dr O'Flanagan said: "No, the situation remains that it is very rare to have a serious complication. The NDSC is continuing to monitor the situation closely."
She added that the Immunisation Committee of the Royal College of Physicians had met recently to discuss the deaths from influenza in Britain and had decided to continue with its present immunisation policy.
The current recommendation is that the flu vaccine be administered to everyone over the age of 65 and to adults and children with a pre-existing chronic disease such as asthma or diabetes.
Referred to by some media as "the Chinese flu", this particular virus was first identified a year ago in Europe.
It then began to circulate in Australia and New Zealand during their winter in July and August this year.
Latest statistics from the NDSC show that the majority of cases of the Fujian-like flu have been in children and young adults.
"Detection of influenza in younger age groups is not unexpected as there has been very little influenza in circulation for the last few seasons, therefore the opportunity for development of immunity has been limited," the NDSC influenza report for this week states.