A child has died of influenza in Manitoba, latest report says

A Manitoba child has died of influenza, the province's latest report on respiratory viruses says.

A child in the five- to 17-year-old age groupdied during the reporting period from Nov. 27 to Dec. 3, the Dec. 9 report shows.

The province said specifics about the case are not being provided for privacy reasons and out of respect for the family.

"Manitoba Health emphasizes that influenza deaths among young children are rare. Vaccinations continue to be the best defence again respiratory disease," a spokesperson said in an email.

Only about 12 per cent of children who are 17 and younger have received a flu vaccine this year, the report says.

LISTEN | Pediatric respiratory experts weigh in on flu season questions:

1:53:00FULL EPISODE: How is the flu season affecting you and your family?

An early and severe flu season is starting to hit Canadian kids and Canadian hospitals. It's led to sickness, and in some cases death, among children. Are you or your kids getting the flu shot?

There have been 12 deaths from the flu this year,the majority of them older than65.

Five of those deaths were reported in the latest respiratory virus report by the province.

A total of 171people have been hospitalized with the flu to date andsix patients were admitted tointensive care.

However, the case counts for that weekly period were lower than expected because Manitoba Health is dealing with documentation delays due to the influx of influenza cases. Updated numbers are expected on Friday.