Missouri: 1 death

[hornblower]

CDC includes 1 Missouri fatality in case counts for May 25.
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/update.htm



http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-05/20/content_11406002.htm
Missouri reports first death with A/H1H1 flu virus


www.chinaview.cn 2009-05-20 10:52:27 Print

HOUSTON, May 19 (Xinhua) -- A man who had the A/H1N1 flu virus died on Tuesday in a hospital in St. Louis County, Missouri, local health officials said at a news conference.

"Our deepest condolences go out to this man's family and his friends," said Margaret Donnelly, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. "We are working hard to determine why this case of flu became so much more severe than other cases in Missouri."

St. Louis County health officials confirm the 44-year-old man died Tuesday morning at a local hospital. They said the man had been in the hospital for a few weeks.

The officials did not release the man's name, where he is from or what hospital he was treated at.

Earlier reports said the man traveled last month to Mexico where A/H1N1 flu virus first emerged. He returned on April 27 and became ill a week later. He went to an urgent care center on May 9and was admitted to a hospital the same day.

While the man did have the A/H1N1 flu, the official cause of death from the St. Louis County medical examiner has not yet been determined.

If this death is determined to be caused by A/H1N1 flu, it will be the first deadly case in the state of Missouri.

An autopsy will be done on the man. State and county health officials and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating the case.

 

[appleblossom]

Re: Missouri: 1 death

Family of St. Louis County man who died of swine flu given medication

Tuesday, May 19, 2009 | 4:55 p.m. CDT
BY BETSY TAYLOR/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CLAYTON ? A 44-year-old St. Louis County man diagnosed with swine flu after traveling to Mexico died Tuesday, state and county health officials said.

The man's name was not released. He died Tuesday at about 6:15 a.m. while in intensive care at an undisclosed St. Louis-area hospital, health officials said.

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services spokesman Kit Wagar said the man had a confirmed case of swine flu. But an autopsy and further testing is necessary to determine if the illness killed him or if another underlying illness caused his death, health officials said.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was asked to determine the man's cause of death and also if underlying factors played a role. That determination could take several weeks, health officials said.

"It's an unusual case in what otherwise appeared to be a healthy individual," St. Louis County health director Dolores Gunn said. Health officials said the 20 confirmed cases in Missouri have been mostly mild.

"We are working hard to determine why this case of flu became so much more severe than other cases in Missouri," said Margaret Donnelly, director of the state department of health and senior services.

State and county health officials said the man traveled to Mexico last month and arrived home April 27. He got sick in the days after his return. He went to his doctor, then to an urgent care center on May 9, then to the hospital. He was being treated with anti-viral medication, Gunn said.

The man's family members and medical workers who treated him also have been given anti-viral medications, which work best if taken within 48 hours of a person becoming sick. "It can treat the symptoms. It does not cure the flu," Gunn said. No one who had contact with the man has come down with the flu.

"We're asking residents to remain cautious, but not alarmed," she said. She repeated the importance of good hygiene, like thorough hand-washing and covering up a cough to prevent the spread of illnesses.

If swine flu is confirmed as the cause of death, the man would be the first person in Missouri to die during the current outbreak of the disease.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 47 states plus the District of Columbia have a combined 5,123 confirmed and probable cases of swine flu. And the World Health Organization said 40 countries have reported more than 9,830 cases, mostly in the U.S. and Mexico.

Global deaths before the St. Louis County case were at 80 ? 72 in Mexico, six in the U.S., and one each in Canada and Costa Rica.


http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/05/19/update-family-st-louis-county-man-who-died-swine-flu-given-medication/