The first area child who died after falling ill with the flu has been identified as Layna Vu Pollard, a student at Westminster Woods Public School.
Her family said she started showing flu symptoms on Jan. 29 and was found two days later unconscious on the bathroom floor of at the family home. Her father performed CPR and she was rushed to Guelph General Hospital to no avail.
Stan Pollard confirmed his daughter’s death, saying she died of the influenza B virus.
“We were expecting 30 to 40 people at her visitation but or 400 came,” Layna’s father told GuelphToday.
His Facebook page thanked people for the outpouring of support.
“I just want to say thank you to all the people for their love and support for my lovely daughter my daughter was very special to me and nothing in this world could replace that,” he wrote.
“I truly do miss my daughter I love her with all my heart I just want to say thank you to all the people for your support I will try to get through this in time thank you.”
He wanted to point out that his daughter did not receive a flu shot but believes that it would not have saved her even if she had.
“My daughter always believed not to put chemicals in her body she always ate healthy and she didn't want the flu shot due to the chemicals they put in there,” her father said.
Layna was the only child of Stan and his wife Le Pollard.
While not yet confirmed, Public Health believes that a second child in the area may have died of the flu, but that case is unrelated to Layna’s death.
“We are seeing more flu cases and unfortunately we have seen one confirmed flu death and one suspected flu death among elementary school students,” Wellington Dufferin Guelph Public Health communications manager Chuck Ferguson said in an interview Friday.
The deaths are not related to any one school or going to school in general, said Ferguson.
WDG Public Health will not disclose the identity or the gender of the children.
Influenza is a serious respiratory infection, said Dr. Nicola Mercer, medical officer of health and CEO of WDG Public Health, and the flu season is not over.
"In the last week we have seen the highest number of new cases as well as the highest school absenteeism this season," she said.
WDG Public Health will be extending the hours at some flu shot clinics Friday and Saturday and will continue to encourage people to get immunized, said Ferguson.
“Your best protection is to get a flu shot,” Ferguson said.
