CA - 1st confirmed death in Marin County

[thebes]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/inmarin/detail?&entry_id=42896

CA - Marin County

Marin woman with swine flu dies
A 33 year-old Marin woman with a confirmed case of the swine flu- or H1N1 virus- has died.
The death was confirmed as the first in the county, by Dr. Anju Goel, the deputy public health officer in Marin.

The woman, who has not been identified, apparently had pre-existing medical conditions and passed away on Tuesday in Alameda County. She was transferred from a Marin County hospital when her condition worsened.

There have been 49 cases of swine flu in Marin and Dr. Goel admitted they've seen an uptick in cases lately-

"We've noticed in the last two weeks that we've gotten an increase in positives," she said.

According to the IJ, a Mill Valley man who had traveled to the East Coast and Canada reportedly died of the virus while in Canada.

Health officials are working on a vaccine for H1N1 that they hope to make available in fall of '09 but until then, they encourage everyone to continue to wash their hands frequently with soap and water and stay home if you become ill with flu-like symptoms.

 

[appleblossom]

Re: CA - 1st confirmed death in Marin County

more info ...


Marin woman first to die from swine flu after catching disease in county

Richard Halstead
Posted: 07/01/2009 06:14:00 PM PDT

A 33-year-old woman has become the first Marin resident to die from swine flu after contracting it in the county, health officials announced Wednesday.
The woman, whose name and city of residence were withheld, died Tuesday evening after being moved from a Marin hospital to a hospital in Alameda County, said Dr. Anju Goel, Marin County deputy public health officer.

She said the woman had pre-existing medical conditions, but the nature of those conditions as well as the names of the hospitals were withheld.

The woman became ill about two weeks ago and was hospitalized 11 days ago, Goel said.

She said Tamiflu was administered to the woman; Goel wasn't sure when the woman received the antiviral medication. Tamiflu is most effective in reducing the severity of the disease when administered within the first few days. The woman's swine flu diagnosis was confirmed the same day she died, Goel said.

While the woman is the first Marin resident to die after contracting swine flu in Marin, she is not the first Marin resident to fall victim to the pandemic disease.

On June 17, Robert Derzon of Mill Valley, a distinguished retired health official, died from the disease while visiting a friend in Orangeville, Ontario. Derzon left Marin for a trip to the East Coast on about May 31. Health officials in Canada think it is likely that Derzon contracted the disease after he left Marin.

So far this year there have been at least 16 deaths related to the H1N1 influenza in California, and at least 127 deaths in the United States.
"Although most of the H1N1 cases in Marin County and in the state have been mild or moderate, all flu viruses can be deadly and everyone should remain vigilant in helping to prevent the spread of H1N1 and seasonal flu," Goel said.

There have been 49 cases of H1N1 in Marin County to date, with 24 probable and 25 confirmed cases, Goel said. So far, including the woman who died Tuesday, six people have been hospitalized in Marin with probable or confirmed cases of swine flu. Four of those patients have had the diagnosis confirmed.

Since 98 percent of probable cases have been confirmed, the state is only performing confirmatory tests in special cases, such as patients who are hospitalized in intensive-care units or who die, Goel said.

Marin public health officials have seen an increase in the number of cases of H1N1 in the county over the past two weeks, Goel said.

"We anticipate that we will continue to see more cases over the next several weeks and months now that the H1N1 virus has become well established in California," she said.

Contact Richard Halstead via e-mail at rhalstead@marinij.com




http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_12736412

 

[Shiloh]

Re: CA - 1st confirmed death in Marin County

Source: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/north_bay&id=6939507

North Bay Newsrss
Marin pregnant woman died of swine flu
Wednesday, July 29, 2009 | 5:41 PM


By Cecilia Vega

ABC7 News has confirmed that one of the people who died of the H1N1 flu this spring was a pregnant woman from Marin County and her family claims local health authorities were ill prepared to save her life.


The family has kept a low profile since 33-year-old Jaime Norman died, but with the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warnings about the H1N1 virus, they have decided to speak out.
Norman went into the hospital 29 weeks pregnant with flu symptoms -- she never came out. But doctors were able to save her baby.

Her baby, Jack, was born nearly two months premature. She held him, her first and only child, just once before she died of the swine flu.

"She was at least conscious enough that to know that they had put him on her stomach and touch the hands so there was some contact for about half an hour," Norman's husband Eric Sheldon said.

Norman was Marin County's first swine flu death and her family has questions about whether health care workers were prepared to treat her illness.

"Totally the lab had not any experience in H1N1, they thought it was H1N3," Norman's mother Barbara Norman said.

Norman checked into the emergency room at Marin General Hospital. She was diagnosed with pneumonia and ultimately swine flu.

"I can't be angry because they were fairly out of the loop where most of the cases were happening," Barbara Norman said.

CDC researchers said Wednesday the swine flu has been especially devastating to pregnant women. Expectant mothers who catch the virus have a higher risk of serious illness and death. Fifteen women in the country died of swine flu between April and June; it is unknown how many more, like Norman, have died since then.

After being born so many months early, baby Jack is doing well and expected to be released from Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley in about three weeks.

His father is looking forward to it, but with sadness.

"I believe when Jack does get home from the hospital that's when it's going to really hit home that I'm by myself," Sheldon said.

 

[JimO]

Re: CA - 1st confirmed death in Marin County

I believe this is caseid #US312 on the database.

 

[Chuck]

Re: CA - 1st confirmed death in Marin County

http://www.moremarin.com/buzzhome/2...-a-study-says-they-are-more-at-risk.html#more

Thursday, July 30, 2009
Marin's first swine flu death was a pregnant woman; new study indicates they are more at risk

Tents erected in Marin General Hospital parking lot for swine flu patients 11:00 a.m. Update: Second pregnant Bay Area woman's death is swine flu-related. 33 year-old woman from Hayward died in July.

===============

A woman who was Marin's first confirmed death of H1N1 virus was pregnant. 33 year-old Jamie Norman, delivered a baby named Jack who was born two months prematurely, but he is doing well and is expected to return home.

Jamie's family believe that health care workers in Marin--specifically at Marin General Hospital (pictured at left)--were ill-prepared to care for 33 year-old Jaime Norman and that it took them by surprise. Norman was eventually transferred to Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley where she died on June 30.

Now the Lancet medical journal has released a study indicating pregnant women are far more at risk both to catch swine flu and to suffer complications from it.

According to the Lancet--

Pregnant women especially at risk for swine flu The estimated rate of admission for pandemic H1N1 influenza virus infection in pregnant women during the first month of the outbreak was higher than it was in the general population

The study found that women who died of H1N1 while pregnant, were all previously healthy and when they became ill, had to be placed on ventilators. The study suggested that they may have benefited from receiving antivirals.

Health officials are now recommending that pregnant women be treated promptly with antivirals and that they be first in line to receive the vaccine when it is issued.

Meanwhile, Norman's husband awaits the return of his baby boy, whom his mother was able to hold just before she died. From ABC7- [video]