By Matt Leingang
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Olivia Harrison

CORRYVILLE - An 11-month-old girl who tested positive for influenza died Sunday at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, but hospital officials stopped short of saying that the flu caused her death.

The girl, Olivia Harrison of Forest Park, had been ill about 24 hours before arriving at the hospital Saturday evening, said Dr. Mike Farrell, chief of staff at Children's. Doctors worked on her through Sunday but were unable to save her, he said.

"I cannot say that flu was the absolute cause of death," Farrell said. "But she had a serious infection."

The Ohio Department of Health will be working with Cincinnati-area health officials to determine if the girl's death was flu-related, said spokeswoman Michelle LoParo. As of Tuesday, there remained only one confirmed flu-related death in the state - a 1-year-old from Ross County who died Dec. 4.

Olivia's parents did not wish to speak to reporters Tuesday. But her grandfather, Bob McGuire of West Chester, said the family is struggling to understand how this happened.

The baby had no underlying medical issues and had been very healthy, McGuire, 63, said. "We're all torn to pieces. She was a beautiful baby," he said.

Olivia's older sister, a 3-year-old, had been sick with a cold last week, but the illness had largely cleared up by Friday. But on Saturday morning, Olivia did not seem herself. She began coughing and appeared lethargic. By the afternoon, she was running a temperature of 102 degrees.

It was then that Olivia's parents took her to Children's, McGuire said. Doctors immediately put her on life-support systems, including a ventilator. Her condition, however, did not improve and she died about 8 p.m. Sunday, McGuire said.

"The virus totally attacked her body," said McGuire, who added that the tragedy should inspire all parents to vigilantly monitor their children's health this flu season.

The Hamilton County Coroner's Office does not plan to do an autopsy because the case does not fall under its jurisdiction: The death was not due to or contributed to by violence, was not suspicious and did not occur while the person was in apparent good health.

Further diagnostic testing can be done at the request of the physician caring for the patient, said Terry Daly, spokesman with the coroner's office.

But at a news conference Tuesday, officials at Children's did not indicate if they will ask for such tests.

Olivia had Type A influenza, but the exact strain is unknown. Further testing will be done by a state lab in Columbus.

In Greater Cincinnati, the dominant strain of flu in cases tested so far have been Type A/Panama, not the Type A/Fujian strain that has caused deaths in Colorado and other states.

E-mail mleingang@enquirer.com