At a Glance
- A 2-year-old boy became New Jersey’s first pediatric flu death of the 2025-2026 season
- Isaias Castillo was sent home from the ER with a flu diagnosis; his fever hit 105°F that night
- He had not yet received a flu shot because he didn’t attend daycare
- Why it matters: The case highlights the dangers of flu for young children and the importance of early vaccination
A New Jersey mother says her 2-year-old son was discharged from the emergency room after being diagnosed with the flu-only to die the next day as his fever soared to 105 degrees.
Giselle Castillo told ABC-7 that her son Isaias spiked a 101.2°F fever on January 11. She took him to the hospital the following day, where staff diagnosed the toddler with influenza and sent the pair home with instructions to give Tylenol or Motrin.
The boy’s temperature dipped briefly, Castillo said, before climbing to 105°F that night. Seizures began soon after.
“It was very traumatic. I was scared and I screamed for my husband to call 911,” she told the outlet. Paramedics rushed Isaias back to the hospital, where he died the next day.
A Missed Vaccination
Isaias had not received his flu shot, his mother said, because the toddler did not attend daycare. A shot had been scheduled for later this month.
New Jersey health officials confirmed that Isaias is the state’s first pediatric flu death of the 2025-2026 season. His death comes amid a broader surge in flu cases driven by a variant of Influenza A (H3N2) dubbed “subclade K,” first detected in Australia over the summer, according to NPR.
Andrew Pekosz, a virologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told NPR that “a large surge” of cases follows “anywhere we detect this virus.”
“We just don’t have any sense of where [the upward trend] is going to stop,” he added, calling that uncertainty “the big concern in most of the medical communities right now.”
Community Rallies Around Family
A family friend launched a GoFundMe to help cover funeral costs and ease financial pressures “so they can focus on their family and honoring his memory.”
“There are no words that can ease the pain of losing a child, and during this time of deep grief, the family is navigating overwhelming emotional and practical challenges,” the fundraising page reads.
Castillo told ABC-7 that Isaias “was the light of every room, he touched every single person he ever met, he was the center of attention wherever he went.”
She added, “I will never be the same, my children will never be the same, my family will never be the same.”
Key Takeaways
- Isaias Castillo, 2, is New Jersey’s first pediatric flu death this season
- He was sent home from the ER with a flu diagnosis and died within 24 hours
- The dominant circulating strain is Influenza A (H3N2) subclade K
- Health officials urge early vaccination for all eligible children
The case underscores the rapid progression flu can take in very young patients and the importance of timely immunization, even for children not in group-care settings.
