Doctors and health officials are raising the alarm over a surge in child deaths caused by a shocking “brain-rotting” syndrome.
Almost a dozen children have contracted a rare brain disorder after being infected with influenza.
The brain condition causes seizures, delirium, and death.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that of 68 children who have died of the flu during the 2024-2025 season, nine had a condition called influenza-associated encephalopathy or encephalitis (IAE).
Four of those children had a more severe subtype called acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE).
The CDC didn’t reveal any details about the children aside from they were all under five years old.
ANE occurs when the body’s immune system overreacts to a common virus, like the flu.
It causes widespread inflammation and tissue damage throughout the body, including the brain.
The disorder allows toxins and bacteria to enter the brain and kill tissue.
Over time, the brain swells, and cells die.
The Daily Mail described ANE as a “brain-rotting disorder.”
The disease shares symptomatic and pathological resemblance with mitochondrial metabolic disorders.
Adrienne Randolph, MD, MSc, of Boston Children’s Hospital, said she reported about 12 potential cases of flu-associated ANE to CDC’s National Center