--- title: Indiana Girl Dies After Flu, Strep Throat and Scarlet Fever description: Seven-year-old Savanna Jessie from Indiana has died after testing positive for influenza, scarlet fever, and strep throat. canonical: https://time.com/5133825/indiana-flu-death-savanna-jessie/ author: Alix Langone article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-05T19:07:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:53:39.525Z article:section: Health og:title: 7-year-old Indiana Girl Dies After Being Diagnosed With Flu, Scarlet Fever and Strep Throat og:description: Savanna Jessie was found unresponsive in her bed og:url: https://time.com/5133825/indiana-flu-death-savanna-jessie/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28d8d905d584a0fb/6988faa2ab6d773c996b19d2/savanna-jessie-1517583817.jpg?branch=production&width=207&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 207 og:image:height: 116 og:image:alt: savanna-jessie-1517583817.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 7-year-old Indiana Girl Dies After Being Diagnosed With Flu, Scarlet Fever and Strep Throat twitter:description: Savanna Jessie was found unresponsive in her bed twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28d8d905d584a0fb/6988faa2ab6d773c996b19d2/savanna-jessie-1517583817.jpg?branch=production&width=207&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 7-Year-Old Indiana Girl Dies After Being Diagnosed With Flu, Scarlet Fever and Strep Throat > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. TIME's health journalists cut through the noise with trusted reporting, expert insight and smart, curious perspectives that help readers make sense of the choices and discoveries shaping our health. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: Here's Why the Flu Is Especially Bad This Year [Watch (HLS stream): Here's Why the Flu Is Especially Bad This Year](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ityYoAe6.m3u8) (1:49)  _Published 2018-01-18. Here's Why the Flu Is Especially Bad This Year_ by [Alix Langone](https://time.com/author/alix-langone/) ## Alix Langone Feb 5, 2018 7:07 PM UTC  Savanna Jessie Savanna Jessie Barkes, Weaver & Glick Funeral Home & Crematory by [Alix Langone](https://time.com/author/alix-langone/) ## Alix Langone Feb 5, 2018 7:07 PM UTC A first-grader from Columbus, Indiana, has died after being diagnosed with a combination of the flu, scarlet fever and strep throat, according to local media reports. Savanna Jessie, a 7-year-old first grader at Columbus Signature Academy’s Lincoln Elementary School, died at Columbus Regional Hospital after being found unresponsive in her bed at home Thursday morning. She died at about 6:30 a.m. The Bartholomew County coroner’s office told the [Columbus ](http://www.therepublic.com/2018/02/03/02032018cr%5Ffirst%5Fgrader%5Fdeath/)[_Republic_](http://www.therepublic.com/2018/02/03/02032018cr%5Ffirst%5Fgrader%5Fdeath/)that she had a high fever and tested positive for the flu, strep throat and scarlet fever before she died. The coroner is awaiting the results of a toxicology report to make a ruling on Savanna’s cause of death. Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation also [issued a statement](http://www.bcsc.k12.in.us/cms/lib/IN01000842/Centricity/Domain/1/Public%20Statement%5F2-2-18.pdf) confirming the first-grader’s death. A [YouCaring fund](https://www.youcaring.com/mattandjordonjessie-1085809) is attempting to raise $8,000 to help Savanna’s family cover the cost of her funeral. In Indiana, schools are not required to report illness-related absences until they hit 20%. The BCSC rate is right around %5, according to the school’s statement. Calling it the [“Take 3” approach](https://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/preventing.htm), the Center for Disease Control recommends getting the flu vaccine every single year, taking preventative action to prevent spreading germs (like washing your hands frequently) and not shying away from taking the antiviral drugs — which are different than antibiotics — a doctor prescribes you if you do come down with the flu. This flu season has been especially aggressive in most areas of the country, with [a girl as young as 4](http://time.com/5127213/new-jersey-4-year-old-flu-fatality/) dying in New Jersey this December. Hawaii is the [only state that has so far not experienced](http://time.com/5111158/flu-season-gets-worse/?iid=sr-link1) rampant illnesses. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5133825/indiana-flu-death-savanna-jessie/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5133825/indiana-flu-death-savanna-jessie/"},"headline":"7-Year-Old Indiana Girl Dies After Being Diagnosed With Flu, Scarlet Fever and Strep Throat","datePublished":"2018-02-05T19:07:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:53:39.525Z","description":"Savanna Jessie died at Columbus Regional Hospital after being found unresponsive in her bed at home","url":"https://time.com/5133825/indiana-flu-death-savanna-jessie/","keywords":["flu","onetime","healthytime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28d8d905d584a0fb/6988faa2ab6d773c996b19d2/savanna-jessie-1517583817.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alix Langone","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alix-langone/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28d8d905d584a0fb/6988faa2ab6d773c996b19d2/savanna-jessie-1517583817.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"savanna-jessie-1517583817.jpg","caption":"Savanna Jessie who died after testing positive for flu, strep throat and scarlet fever","creditText":"Barkes, Weaver & Glick Funeral Home & Crematory","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/flu/","name":"flu"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5133825/indiana-flu-death-savanna-jessie/","name":"7-Year-Old Indiana Girl Dies After Being Diagnosed With Flu, Scarlet Fever and Strep Throat"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Here's Why the Flu Is Especially Bad This Year","description":"Here's Why the Flu Is Especially Bad This Year","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ityYoAe6/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-01-18T18:34:06.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ityYoAe6.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5133825/indiana-flu-death-savanna-jessie/","duration":"PT1M49S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5133825/indiana-flu-death-savanna-jessie/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```