9-year-old Alden girl dies after complications from flu

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The family of 9-year-old Mia Klyczek of Alden said doctors believe she died of complications from Flu B.

Mia’s mother, Christina, said her death is the most unimaginable heartbreak, adding that they’re appreciative of the outpouring of community support and prayers.

“Heaven gained another angel tonight. God knew she was too perfect for this world. We will love you forever, Mia Sofia,” Christina said in a Facebook post late Sunday.

Christina said Mia was typically a very healthy child. Mia did have asthma, but Christina is not sure if that contributed to the complications.

Mia had a low-grade fever over the period of a day and was vomiting as if she had a stomach bug on Tuesday evening, Christina said.

At that point, she said they weren’t alarmed, but around 4 a.m. on Wednesday, Mia was having a seizure and was taken to Oishei Children’s Hospital, where she was intubated.

Christina said it was discovered that Mia’s heart wasn’t functioning properly and there was brain hemorrhaging.

Infectious diseases expert Dr. Thomas Russo, a professor and chief of the Infectious Diseases Division at the University at Buffalo, said complications from influenza involving the brain are rare, but very serious.

Russo said generally, influenza symptoms can develop abruptly.

“Most commonly fever, headache, sore throat, runny nose,” Russo said. “However, warning signs to be vigilant for are shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, confusion and rarely seizures. If any of those warning signs occur, it’s best to reach out to your healthcare provider to see if a higher level of care is appropriate.”

Russo said that overall, there tend to be more cases of Influenza A rather than B. He added that Influenza A tends to cause more serious disease and tends to show up earlier in the flu season than type B.

Russo said the flu shot covers both these types of flu and that both flu types affect all age groups.

Learn more about the GoFundMe for Mia here.

Patrick Ryan is an award-winning reporter who has been part of the News 4 team since 2020. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter.

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