Fourth Child Dies from Flu

State health officials have confirmed the fourth flu-related death of a child this year in Massachusetts.

The Department of Public Health says a 12-year-old girl from Worcester County died Sunday from flu complications, two days after a 15-year-old boy died in Newton from flu-related pneumonia.

There names were not made public because of medical privacy laws.

A 14-year-old from Middlesex County and 6-year-old from Suffolk County died during the first two days of March. Officials say they suffered from a number of health problems that likely contributed to flu complications.

This year's pediatric deaths from influenza were the first in Massachusetts since 2006.

Dr. Alfred DeMaria, the agency's director of communicable disease control, says the worst of the flu season is over.