Lab tests confirm that Fredericksburg-area woman had swine flu

[JimO]

Source: http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/122009/12052009/512548

REGION HAS FIRST DEATH FROM H1N1
Lab tests confirm that Fredericksburg-area woman had swine flu
Date published: 12/5/2009

By Jim Hall

The Fredericksburg area has recorded its first swine flu death. The victim, an adult female, is one of 32 people in Virginia to have died from the new flu virus this year.

Dr. Karen Remley, state health commissioner, reported on the death Thursday afternoon. It was not clear when or where the local person died, though her death was confirmed by laboratory testing to have been from H1N1, Remley said.

The Fredericksburg-area resident, like almost all other people who have died from the virus, had an underlying medical condition, Remley said.

The only other new death in Virginia, Remley said, was an adult male from the Fairfax Health District.

--Jim Hall

 

[Tonka]

Re: Lab tests confirm that Fredericksburg-area woman had swine flu

http://fredericksburg.com/blogs/view?blogger_id=57&p=1259984064

A death but also a decline
Dec. 4, 2009 10:34 pm

The region has just recorded its first H1N1 death, but it?s clear the disease is also on the decline?at least for now.

An adult female is the first person from the Fredericksburg area to die from the virus. Dr. Karen Remley, state health commissioner, reported on the death yesterday at her weekly swine flu briefing. The local resident and an adult male from the Fairfax Health District are the latest victims and bring the statewide swine flu toll to 32. Both deaths were confirmed by lab tests to be from H1N1, Remley said, but both people also had underlying medical conditions that contributed to their deaths.

Even so, by several measures, the number of sick people appears to be decreasing, Remley said. School absences are down, as are hospital admissions and the number of people showing up at emergency rooms and urgent care centers with influenza-like illnesses.

Dr. Robert Gunther, a Fishersville pediatrician and president of the Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said yesterday that he is still seeing disease in all ages of children in his practice. But he added, ?The level of disease, the amount of disease, has definitely decreased. ? Gunther was Remley?s guest at her briefing.

However, given the history of pandemic illnesses, there is a ?high probability? of a third wave for H1N1, Remley said. One of my favorite Health Department charts, here, tracks these waves, as well as the kinds of flu circulating. The chart shows that the first wave lasted from early June to early August. The second wave--usually the largest wave, according to Remley--started in early October and may have ended this week.

So will the third wave begin in January, just as the seasonal flu starts its traditional ride? Nobody knows. Ironically, the disease appears to be peaking just as large quantities of the vaccine are on the horizon. Remley said vaccine may be available for the general population as early as next week.

An earlier posting on H1N1 deaths, including a list of the-then 30 deaths, can be seen here.