Re: First death due to H1N1 in Rhode Island
http://www.projo.com/health/content/ri_swine_flu_death_06-18-09_2EEOSPH_v11.3cd5ec5.html
Swine flu virus claims R.I. girl
01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, June 18, 2009
By Richard C. Dujardin
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE ? A teenage girl at the Meeting Street School has become the first person in Rhode Island to die from the swine flu, state health officials confirmed yesterday.
Annemarie Beardsworth, spokeswoman for the Department of Health, declined to release the identity of the student but confirmed that the teen, a resident of Kent County, was attending Meeting Street, which caters to students with special needs. She said that as far as can be determined there has been no active outbreak of the virus at the school.
The teenager died Sunday at Hasbro Children?s Hospital, but it was only on Wednesday that the Health Department received test results confirming that the girl had tested positive for the H1N1 virus. Beardsworth said it usually takes 24 to 48 hours to get a test result after a swab has been taken.
She said the girl did not show any of the symptoms associated with the swine flu while she was in class.
As of mid-afternoon Wednesday, 94 cases of swine flu were reported in the state, according to Beardsworth, including 23 people who have been hospitalized. Beardsworth said those infected ?cover the entire age spectrum.?
As was the case of the student who died, most of the Rhode Islanders who have been hospitalized have had underlying medical conditions that put them in higher risk, Beardsworth said.
As a matter of policy, the Health Department has advised school departments that they do not have to shut down a school when a student develops swine flu symptoms. The department has asked school nurses to be on the alert and to monitor absenteeism on a daily basis for signs of a possible outbreak.
Beardsworth said that as far as she knew the Meeting Street student did not have a travel history that would have taken her out of the country, but now that the swine flu virus has spread across the country health officials no longer deem that question relevant.
Previously all samples were sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta to be tested; the Health Department now conducts the tests locally.
?While this is sad news for us, following the trends in other states, we weren?t surprised by this,? Beardsworth said.
She said Rhode Islanders are urged to help prevent the spread of the virus by washing their hands frequently with soap and warm water, or with an alcohol-based hand gel, and coughing or sneezing into their elbow.
She said anyone who has a flu-like illness, such as a fever with a cough or sore throat, should stay home for seven days after the symptoms begin or until the symptoms have stopped for 24 hours, whichever is longer.
School closes early
?The Greystone School in North Providence received special permission Wednesday from the Rhode Island education commissioner to end its school year Thursday. The school year will end after 176 days ? four days short of the mandated 180-day minimum ? due to an emergency closure of the school earlier this month. Officials ordered the closure to prevent spread of the H1N1 virus.
rdujardi@projo.com
