An otherwise healthy teenager from Owatonna, Minn., died Tuesday after suffering what relatives described as a flu-like illness, raising concerns about the toll of an influenza season that appears harsher than normal.
Test results were pending late Wednesday afternoon to confirm whether flu played a role in the death of Shannon Zwanziger, 17, described as a shy but fun-loving senior at Owatonna High School.
"Just full of life, full of fun," said her aunt, Brenda Baska. "She had these beautiful blue eyes. If you looked at her, you could see she had a twinkle."
Zwanziger was sick with flu-like symptoms and fever for a week. After one trip to the doctor, her parents took her back for a strep test Sunday, when a sore throat made it difficult for her to eat or drink. Her symptoms worsened, and on Tuesday she was airlifted to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, her uncle said.
Zwanziger had no other health problems, relatives said. Typically, influenza in teens isn't fatal unless they have underlying conditions such as congestive heart failure that complicate their infections.
"We're in between being in shock, the numbness of being in shock, and the overwhelming grief," Baska said.
State health authorities track and confirm flu-related deaths, but aren't permitted by law to acknowledge personal details of specific cases.
What is certain is that the H3N2 strain of influenza circulating in the U.S. this year is historically associated with harsher flu seasons. Last week's state flu update showed an uptick in schools reporting cases of flu-like illness in the final week of November, along with the state's first pediatric death from influenza. Case reports from clinics and long-term-care centers in the state were about average, though, and the total number of hospitalizations so far this season is about average compared with the five prior flu seasons, according to state health data.
