Jade DeLucia, a 4-year-old from Iowa, is now home after being struck with the flu that left her blind and nearly killed her.
Encephalopathy as a result of the flu is very rare, says Czech. “It occurs basically because your immune system gets kind of revved up and it starts attacking your own cells,” she says. “[The immune system is] in overdrive and when that happens it can not only hit its intended target, which is the flu virus, but it also hits other targets nonspecifically, including your brain.”
When the body attacks the brain, Czech adds, any number of symptoms can result depending on what part is effected. “In Jade’s case, the part of the brain that perceived vision was effected.” Czech urged that people receive the flu vaccine as early as possible at the start of the flu season in order to prevent the virus from spreading in the first place. She added a common misconception is that a vaccine prevents against the virus for an entire year, when it really only protects for that intended flu season.
There is still a chance Jade could recover her eyesight, according to a Facebook post by Phillips. Likewise, Dr. Alexander Bassuk, director of the Division of Pediatric Neurology at the hospital that treated Jade, spoke toand said that it is possible for young children to recover their sight. “We definitely have hope in this case that there will be significant recovery,” he said. “But there can be permanent outcomes.
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