Hide Transcript Show Transcript

WEBVTT IS WITH THEM WHERE THEY HAVE QUESTIONS. REPORTER: THEY ARE PREPARED TO SAY GOODBYE HERE AT THE GLORY BUDDHIST TEMPLE AS THEY AWAIT ANSWERS IN THE TRAGEDY. FAMILY SAYS RASKMEY SOPHEEK DIED SATURDAY AND DOCTORS SAID SHE HAD THE FLU AND TOOK ALREADY TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM AT LOWELL GENERAL HOSPITAL LAST TUESDAY. THEY WERE SENT HOME AND THEN THERE WAS A TURN OVER THE WEEKEND AND SHE WENT TO THE E.R. AGAIN AND DIED. >> WE TRIED TO CALL TO 911 EMERGENCY. I DON'T KNOW HOW TO HAVE HER. >> SHE ARRIVED FROM CAMBODIA SEPTEMBER MAKING HER FAMILY WONDER IF SHE HAD THE FLU OR SOMETHING ELSE. THEY ARE WAITING FOR THE OFFICIAL CAUSE. SERVICES WILL BE HERE FR

Advertisement Health officials confirm Massachusetts' third pediatric flu death of season Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Massachusetts health officials confirmed the state's third pediatric flu death of the season on Tuesday.The death of a second child from Middlesex County was reported Tuesday to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The victim is 4-year-old Puthiraskmey Sopheak, of Lowell. Her father, Sopheak Paak, said he rushed her to Lowell General Hospital last Tuesday when her fever hit 99 degrees and she started coughing blood.Paak said the hospital sent them home that day and told him to give his daughter Tylenol. She seemed better but he said things took a sharp turn on Saturday."I tried to call to 911 (for an) emergency," Paak said. "(I told them), 'I don't know how to help her.'"Ambulances arrived at the home, but she died later that day. She had arrived in the United States in September from Cambodia, which makes Paak wonder whether she died from the flu or something else. He is awaiting a report from a hospital in Boston and for the official cause of death from the medical examiner.Lowell General Hospital released the following statement:"We offer our deepest sympathies and condolences to the family over the tragic loss of their daughter. Patient privacy rules prohibit us from commenting any further at this time."There have now been three flu-associated pediatric deaths this season in the state -- an adolescent male from Worcester County and two female children from Middlesex County. There was one flu-associated pediatric death in Massachusetts last year.This year’s flu season in Massachusetts through January has mirrored last year’s in that activity has been widespread and severe. "January and February are typically the height of the flu season, and flu-related complications can result in very serious, life-threatening illness and even death, among both children and adults," the Massachusetts Department of Health said. Reports of both influenza-like illness and flu-related hospitalizations have both leveled off in the last few weeks. However, peak flu activity usually lasts through March.The Department of Public Health urges people to get vaccinated, to wash their hands, cover their coughs and sneezes and stay home when sick to limit the spread of disease.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates there are between 12,000 and 56,000 deaths due to complications of flu in the United States each year. Based on national calculations, DPH estimates between 250 and 1,100 Massachusetts residents die annually from complications of influenza.