NEW YORK (January 15, 2013)—Twenty children have died of flu-related causes so far this winter, one of the worst tolls this early in the year since health officials began keeping track.

Still, experts say that doesn't mean this year will turn out to be unusually deadly because roughly 100 children die in an average flu season.

It’s clear that will happen this year.

The young victims have included a 6-year-old girl in Maine, a 15-year-old Michigan boy who loved robotics and a tall high school senior from Texas who got sick in Wisconsin while visiting his grandparents for the holidays.

On average, an estimated 24,000 Americans die each flu season.

Elderly people with chronic health conditions are at greatest risk.