California - 2 more swine flu deaths in San Diego County

[Gert van der Hoek]

2 swine flu-related deaths in San Diego County

Monday, June 29, 2009


San Diego County health officials have confirmed two more deaths related to the swine flu.

The deaths of a 49-year old woman and 75-year old man have pushed the county's tally of swine flu-related fatalities to three. A 20-year old woman died earlier this month of the disease.

San Diego County health officials said in a statement Monday that 392 cases of swine flu have been reported in the county. In California, 1,294 cases of swine flu had been reported as of June 25.

County Public Health Officer Dr. Wilma Wooten reminded residents to take precautions including covering their mouths when coughing and washing their hands often.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/06/29/state/n112242D08.DTL&type=health

 

[thebes]

Re: California - 2 more swine flu deaths in San Diego County

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jun/29/bn29flu2-two-die/?metro

Two more die of swine flu; had other medical problems
By Keith Darc?, Union-Tribune Staff Writer
6:22 p.m. June 29, 2009

SAN DIEGO ? Underlying health problems might have played a role in the deaths of two more swine flu patients in San Diego County, local health officials said Monday.

Alejandra R. Gonzalez, 49, of Spring Valley, died June 23 after arriving at the emergency room at Sharp Grossmont Hospital earlier that day. A county medical examiner report said the homemaker had suffered from nausea and vomiting for a few days.

A 75-year-old man died Sunday at Sharp Memorial Hospital after being admitted through the emergency room June 21.

The deaths were announced Monday morning after specimens from the victims tested positive for the novel strain of H1N1 influenza. County officials didn't identify the man because an autopsy wasn't performed on him.

Both victims had ?considerable? underlying health conditions, said Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county's public health officer.

She said health privacy rules barred her from identifying the problems.
Asthma, diabetes, chronic heart disease and a weakened immune system have been among the conditions most commonly associated with swine flu hospitalizations in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Adela Chevalier, 20, of Escondido, became the county's first swine flu patient to die from the disease on June 15.
Regular seasonal flu claimed only two lives in the county in 2008 and nine in 2007, Wooten said.
More than 27,700 cases of the illness and 127 deaths have been identified in the United States since the outbreak surfaced in San Diego County in late April.
While seasonal flu cases in California and around the country have dwindled in recent weeks as they typically do, the swine flu strain has persisted.
?The novel H1N1 influenza is continuing to spread here in the United States and around the globe,? Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of respiratory diseases for the CDC, said Friday during the agency's most recent update on the virus.
?The number of new cases that were reported to us this past week (more than 6,000) was actually the largest number we've had reported since the beginning of the outbreak,? she said.
Health officials have said that reported cases likely represent a small fraction of the actual number of infections because most of the illnesses are never identified.
Wooten said people in San Diego County and elsewhere should continue taking normal precautions against influenza over the coming months, including frequent hand washing, avoiding those who are sick and staying home if flu symptoms surface.
?Wherever you live, there are people who have been exposed to (the virus),? she said. ?Will it be persistent throughout the summer? Time will tell.?