Fulton Boy Dies in Hospital

A mid-Missouri child died at the hospital Friday morning — possibly from the flu. The seven year old Fulton boy died after getting sick in just the last couple of days. The autopsy is complete, but the results are not back yet, which means authorities do not know exactly what killed the boy. The flu has been hitting hard this season, resulting in at least 45 child deaths. Earlier this week, Missouri became one of 42 states reporting widespread flu activity. It remains difficult to determine if other children at the boy’s school could have been exposed to the flu, because we still do not know the official cause of death. The boy attended second grade at Saint Peter’s Catholic School in Fulton, and was in class earlier this week, before showing flu-like symptoms. Because of policy, the school’s principal says she is unable to confirm whether the boy was a student, but other employees say he did attend class there, and his mother worked at the school last year. They say it is a small school, in which almost everyone knows each other. One teacher says she was told the boy spiked a temperature of 105 degrees only three days before his death. She says she is not concerned about other students getting sick at this point in time. The Callaway County Health Department reports that their communicable disease nurse is involved in the investigation into how the boy fell ill. They say it is still too early to say much more.Health officials say they are waiting for bacteria tests to come back before ruling on a cause of death.