http://www.app.com/article/20090714/NEWS/907140343/1070/NEWS02
Swine flu to blame for death in Brick
By Matthew McGrath ? TOMS RIVER BUREAU ? July 14, 2009
BRICK ? A middle-aged township resident has become the second person in Ocean County to die as a result of swine flu complications, the county health department reported Tuesday.
The victim had severe underlying health conditions, health officials said without elaborating. However, officials have said, in general, underlying health conditions are chronic illnesses like diabetes or heart disease.
The victim was one of the 44 previously confirmed cases of swine flu in Ocean County and did not represent a new case, said Leslie Terjesen, county health department spokeswoman.
The name, age and gender of the victim and when and where he or she died were not made public.
On June 25, a 6-year-old Jackson boy died at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune from the H1N1 virus, which causes swine flu. The boy, a first-grader at Lucy N. Holman Elementary School, also had underlying health problems, officials have said.
Throughout New Jersey, there have been nine other deaths related to swine flu, according to figures posted on the state Department of Health and Senior Services Web site, which were updated last Wednesday. The state's numbers are updated weekly.
Most of those who died had some sort of adverse health condition, state health officials have said.
Of the 37,246 confirmed and probable cases throughout the United States, 211 people have died, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control Web site.
"The Health Department has increased its surveillance of influenza-like illness and is working closely with area hospitals and the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services," said Freeholder Gerry P. Little, liaison to the county Health Department.
Not a flu victim
County health officials and investigators spent much of Saturday trying to determine if the death of a 5-year-old New York girl on vacation with her family on Long Beach Island was related to the H1N1 virus. The girl had been infected with a similar flu a month before officials said. But swine flu was ultimately ruled out, and health officials are looking for other natural causes as a reason for the death.
Meanwhile, the number of confirmed cases in Ocean County rose to 47, a county health department spokeswoman said.
The latest cases are two adults, one from Berkeley and one from Manchester, and a preschooler from Lakewood. All three are recovering at home, officials said.
Ages and sexes in all three cases were not disclosed.
In Monmouth County, the number of confirmed cases of swine flu is 52, according to the state's figures. There have been no fatalities. However, a small outbreak of the virus in Asbury Park near the end of the school year caused student and faculty attendance to plummet at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School.
800 cases in N.J.
Throughout the state, there have been more than 800 confirmed cases and more than 450 probable cases of H1N1 infections. However, officials caution that the number of confirmed cases does not reflect the overall incidence of the flu in New Jersey, because the state is testing cases only in which patients are hospitalized or where there are clusters of illness.
The Obama administration hopes to have a swine flu vaccine ready by mid-October, but no decision has been made on whether to administer it. Children would be among the first to be vaccinated.
Health officials throughout the state attended a conference Monday and Tuesday in New Brunswick to learn about the developing vaccine and the state's pandemic plan, and when it is appropriate to close schools.
Swine flu to blame for death in Brick
By Matthew McGrath ? TOMS RIVER BUREAU ? July 14, 2009
BRICK ? A middle-aged township resident has become the second person in Ocean County to die as a result of swine flu complications, the county health department reported Tuesday.
The victim had severe underlying health conditions, health officials said without elaborating. However, officials have said, in general, underlying health conditions are chronic illnesses like diabetes or heart disease.
The victim was one of the 44 previously confirmed cases of swine flu in Ocean County and did not represent a new case, said Leslie Terjesen, county health department spokeswoman.
The name, age and gender of the victim and when and where he or she died were not made public.
On June 25, a 6-year-old Jackson boy died at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune from the H1N1 virus, which causes swine flu. The boy, a first-grader at Lucy N. Holman Elementary School, also had underlying health problems, officials have said.
Throughout New Jersey, there have been nine other deaths related to swine flu, according to figures posted on the state Department of Health and Senior Services Web site, which were updated last Wednesday. The state's numbers are updated weekly.
Most of those who died had some sort of adverse health condition, state health officials have said.
Of the 37,246 confirmed and probable cases throughout the United States, 211 people have died, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control Web site.
"The Health Department has increased its surveillance of influenza-like illness and is working closely with area hospitals and the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services," said Freeholder Gerry P. Little, liaison to the county Health Department.
Not a flu victim
County health officials and investigators spent much of Saturday trying to determine if the death of a 5-year-old New York girl on vacation with her family on Long Beach Island was related to the H1N1 virus. The girl had been infected with a similar flu a month before officials said. But swine flu was ultimately ruled out, and health officials are looking for other natural causes as a reason for the death.
Meanwhile, the number of confirmed cases in Ocean County rose to 47, a county health department spokeswoman said.
The latest cases are two adults, one from Berkeley and one from Manchester, and a preschooler from Lakewood. All three are recovering at home, officials said.
Ages and sexes in all three cases were not disclosed.
In Monmouth County, the number of confirmed cases of swine flu is 52, according to the state's figures. There have been no fatalities. However, a small outbreak of the virus in Asbury Park near the end of the school year caused student and faculty attendance to plummet at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School.
800 cases in N.J.
Throughout the state, there have been more than 800 confirmed cases and more than 450 probable cases of H1N1 infections. However, officials caution that the number of confirmed cases does not reflect the overall incidence of the flu in New Jersey, because the state is testing cases only in which patients are hospitalized or where there are clusters of illness.
The Obama administration hopes to have a swine flu vaccine ready by mid-October, but no decision has been made on whether to administer it. Children would be among the first to be vaccinated.
Health officials throughout the state attended a conference Monday and Tuesday in New Brunswick to learn about the developing vaccine and the state's pandemic plan, and when it is appropriate to close schools.