First H1N1 Fatality in Winnebago County IL

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.wifr.com/news/headlines/59800502.html

Posted: 7:29 PM Sep 18, 2009
First H1N1 Fatality in Winnebago County
A Winnebago County resident has died from the H1N1 virus. It is the first fatality from the swine flu in our area.


A Winnebago County resident has died from the H1N1 virus. It is the first fatality from the swine flu in our area.

The Winnebago County Health Department reports it was an adult who died today from complications related to H1N1.

Since April of this year, 17 people have been hospitalized in Winnebago County with the swine flu.

Health department leaders say with the growing number of cases statewide, they were concerned there would be fatalities in our area.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: First H1N1 Fatality in Winnebago County IL

Source: http://www.rrstar.com/news/x1358732474/County-has-first-death-tied-to-H1N1


County has first death tied to H1N1
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By Mike DeDoncker
RRSTAR.COM
Posted Sep 18, 2009 @ 11:56 PM



The H1N1 flu virus claimed its first Winnebago County resident Friday when a patient suffered complications related to the virus, also known as swine flu.

Winnebago County Health Department Administrator Mike Bacon said the death was reported late Friday afternoon. The patient was an adult with a chronic medical condition who became ill in the first week of September, he said.

?With as many cases of H1N1 influenza that have been reported in Illinois, we have been concerned that there would be fatalities in Winnebago County,? said Bacon, who earlier in the day encouraged vaccination against both seasonal flu and the Novel H1N1 virus. ?I would like to remind everyone, especially those with chronic medical conditions, to continue taking steps to keep from getting the flu.?

It is the 18th H1N1-related death in Illinois. Two of the state?s deaths were pregnant women. The others also suffered from chronic medical conditions.

Bacon declined to say if the victim had been hospitalized, but ?in most cases of this severity, by the time you get to this point, you would have been in a hospital,? he said.

In August, Bacon said the county saw an unusual flu season as 60 cases of the H1N1 virus ?kind of trickled in across the summer? after reaching a peak of activity in mid- to late May. Of those 60 cases, 17 were hospitalized.

Guidelines issued by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identify recommended target groups for the H1N1 flu shot, expected to be available in mid-October, including pregnant women, caretakers of young children, young people ages 6 to 24 and people with chronic medical conditions.

Bacon said those groups would include about 157,000 people in the county.

Staff writer Mike DeDoncker can be reached at 815-987-1382 or mdedoncker@rrstar.com.