His family thought he had a cold. A couple of days later, he died of the flu.

Like many flu-related illnesses, Dylan Winnik's started with a cold — and escalated rapidly.

He had it for a couple of days. By Monday, he was feverish. By Tuesday, his temperature had gone back to normal, but he died that day.

The 12-year-old Florida boy became the latest casualty of an intense flu season that has so far resulted in thousands of hospitalizations and deaths of 2½ dozen children nationwide.