First swine flu death in Palm Beach County& Duval County

[Gert van der Hoek]

First swine flu death in Palm Beach County


The victim is a 25-year old woman

July 9, 2009 - 9:37 AM

The Palm Beach County Health Department has confirmed that a 25-year old woman living in Palm Beach County has died of H1N1, or the swine flu.

The State Laboratory says this brings the state total to seven deaths of H1N1. The World Health Organization has now elevated this virus to a level 6 and declared it a pandemic.

The latest information shows there have been 1781 confirmed cases in Florida with Palm Beach County having 146 and new reports coming in daily.

Health Department Acting Director, Alina Alonso, M.D. said, ?Our sympathies go out to the friends and family of this young woman. I am also asking all to remain alert to the signs and symptoms of this flu and seek medical attention if the fever, coughs and sneezes worsen.?

WHO?s decision to raise the pandemic alert level to Phase 6 is a reflection of the spread of the virus, not the severity of illness caused by the virus. It?s uncertain at this time how serious or severe this novel H1N1 pandemic will be in terms of how many people infected will develop serious complications or die from novel H1N1 infection. Experience with this virus so far is limited and influenza is unpredictable. However, because novel H1N1 is a new virus, many people may have little or no immunity against it, and illness may be more severe and widespread as a result. In addition, currently there is no vaccine to protect against novel H1N1 virus.

http://www.cbs12.com/news/beach-4719496-county-palm.html

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: First swine flu death in Palm Beach County

Swine flu kills Palm Beach County woman, 25



By ANDREW MARRA
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Thursday, July 09, 2009

A Palm Beach County woman has died from complications of swine flu, the health department announced this morning.

The 25-year-old woman passed away on June 27 and the H1N1 swine flu virus was determined to be a factor in her death, Palm Beach County Health Department spokesman Tim O'Connor said.

snip

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2009/07/09/0709swineflu.html

[Shiloh]

Re: First swine flu death in Palm Beach County& Duval County

Source: http://cbs4.com/local/hini.flu.swine.2.1078883.html

Jul 9, 2009 1:46 pm US/Eastern
Two More People Die H1N1 Flu In Florida
Reporting
John MacLauchlan

Two more deadly cases of H1N1 flu have been confirmed in Florida.

The Florida Department of Health said the latest deaths were a 25-year-old woman from Palm Beach County and a 55-year-old man from Duval County. This brings the total number of deaths in the state from the H1N1 virus to seven. The other deaths included three in Miami-Dade and one each in Broward and Seminole counties.

The woman in Palm Beach County, who has not been identified to the media, died on June 27. Health officials have not said what other illness, if any, contributed to her death.

Florida currently has listed 1,781 confirmed cases of H1N1 flu.

In order to protect yourself; the state's Surgeon General recommends:

* People with respiratory illness should stay home from work or school to avoid spreading infections, including influenza, to others in the community.
* Avoid close contact with people who are coughing or otherwise appear ill.
* Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
* Wash hands frequently to lessen the spread of respiratory illness.
* People experiencing cough, fever and fatigue, possibly along with diarrhea and vomiting, should contact their physician.


If you think you have influenza, please call your health care provider and discuss whether you need to be seen in their office, emergency department or stay home.

[thebes]

Re: First swine flu death in Palm Beach County& Duval County

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/business/epaper/2009/07/10/0710swineflu.html

Palm Beach County's 1st swine flu victim was new mom; pandemic expected to worsen
By STACEY SINGER

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Friday, July 10, 2009

She died, but her baby survived.

That's all public health officials will say about a pregnant woman who, at 25, became Palm Beach County's first swine flu-associated fatality and the state's seventh.

The young mother died June 27, the Florida Department of Health said Thursday. The announcement came on a day when President Obama told state leaders at a flu preparedness summit to plan for a widespread outbreak this fall.

If a safe and effective vaccine is developed by October, health officials will launch a mass immunization campaign, turning to schools, clinics and doctors to dispense shots.

They will give priority to those most vulnerable, including small children, people with chronic illnesses and pregnant women.

The Palm Beach County woman's death underscored the warnings from Washington.

If Florida was slow to join a pandemic that has washed over the globe from Mexico and California since April, it is in the thick of it now. The Sunshine State has recorded 1,781 confirmed H1N1 swine flu cases, nearly 1,000 of them in young people between ages 5 and 24.

Four counties - Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Orange - account for more than 60 percent of the state's cases.

Palm Beach County has recorded 146 cases, most coming in the past few weeks, county health department spokesman Tim O'Connor said.

"It's summertime, so it's very unusual to see this," he said.

State epidemiologists say the real numbers may be much higher.

"If there are a million people who have been sick, as the CDC says, we would have had 50,000 or 60,000 cases, if Florida had its share," said Dr. Richard S. Hopkins, acting state epidemiologist.

What's now striking is that in Florida, 90 percent of the flu cases identified are the new swine flu strain.

"What we're saying now to doctors is, if the patient in front of you is showing flu-like symptoms, it is almost certainly H1N1," Hopkins said.

While the novel H1N1 flu strain is considered mild as influenza goes, it can cause serious and life-threatening complications for some.

It has the potential to seriously burden the health system if its growth continues, Hopkins stressed.

"The vast majority of people infected with this virus will do just fine. A few days of feeling rotten, and then they get better on their own," he said. "But let's just say one in 1,000 who gets infected gets sick enough to be hospitalized. If you have a million infected people, you have 1,000 hospitalized, and all of a sudden it begins to look like a big deal."

The state is tracking details of the confirmed cases. Its data suggest that 55 of those infected were health care workers and 17 were pregnant women.

The majority of the sick have reported cough and fever as symptoms. Others reported sore throat, vomiting and diarrhea.

It's unclear why pregnant women seem to develop more serious complications from the illness.

In May, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, in a weekly journal, published the case histories of three pregnant women, suggesting that the changes to a woman's body that occur with pregnancy - including changes in her heart, lungs and immune systems - were what made the women vulnerable.

The CDC has recommended that pregnant women be given Tamiflu and eventually a vaccine when one becomes available.

The United States launched a swine flu vaccine campaign in 1976, with unfortunate results. While the outbreak never materialized, about 500 people among the millions who were vaccinated developed life-threatening Guillain-Barr? syndrome, an autoimmune response that can cause paralysis. Fifty of them died.

Still, several local parents said they would probably be willing to vaccinate their children when the swine flu shots become available.

"I'd absolutely get the vaccine for the kids, because we have a problem and they're offering a solution," said Sally Prissert of Palm Beach Gardens, who has four young children.

"I'm concerned," said Rosie Jimenez of Boynton Beach, a mother of three. "I'd have to look into it."