http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/2705831/Swine-flu-victim-first-health-worker-to-die
Swine flu victim first health worker to die
By RUTH HILL - The Dominion Post
Last updated 05:00 31/07/2009
The 39-year-old woman who died of swine flu in Wellington Hospital this week was a front-line health worker at Hutt Hospital, officials have confirmed.
The woman understood to have been a nurse in the children's ward is believed to be the first health worker to die from the virus in New Zealand.
Her death from a rare complication on Monday, after 11 days in intensive care, is the 13th to be officially recorded.
The coroner is investigating another 20 suspected deaths from the virus.
The woman had suffered a miscarriage within the previous two months. Pregnancy is a known risk factor for viral complications. However, it is not known whether she had the virus at the time she miscarried.
Hutt Valley District Health Board chief operating officer Jill Lane confirmed the woman had been a front-line health worker at Hutt Hospital.
"Out of respect for the family, I can't say anything more than that, except that it is an incredibly sad situation for everyone."
Swine flu was "highly prevalent" in the Hutt Valley and the greater Wellington region, and it was impossible to know whether the health worker had contracted the virus in the hospital or somewhere in the community, she said.
Meanwhile, pregnant women may be among the first in line to be offered the swine flu vaccine after it was found they are four times more likely to be admitted to hospital than other sufferers of the virus.
Director of public health Mark Jacobs said the Health Ministry's advice for pregnant women had been updated to stress that they should seek early medical advice if they were worried about flu symptoms.
In a study published in British medical journal The Lancet this week, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States found pregnant women with H1N1 swine flu had a much higher risk of severe illness and death.
The researchers concluded that pregnant women suspected of having swine flu should be given Tamiflu as soon as possible, even before tests confirmed the diagnosis, and recommended they be among the first to get the vaccine.
New Zealand is set to get an initial shipment of 300,000 doses of the vaccine, enough for 150,000 people.
Initially, it will be offered only to frontline health staff and emergency personnel but Dr Jacobs said the priority groups for early vaccination would be reviewed in response to emerging evidence.
Swine flu victim first health worker to die
By RUTH HILL - The Dominion Post
Last updated 05:00 31/07/2009
The 39-year-old woman who died of swine flu in Wellington Hospital this week was a front-line health worker at Hutt Hospital, officials have confirmed.
The woman understood to have been a nurse in the children's ward is believed to be the first health worker to die from the virus in New Zealand.
Her death from a rare complication on Monday, after 11 days in intensive care, is the 13th to be officially recorded.
The coroner is investigating another 20 suspected deaths from the virus.
The woman had suffered a miscarriage within the previous two months. Pregnancy is a known risk factor for viral complications. However, it is not known whether she had the virus at the time she miscarried.
Hutt Valley District Health Board chief operating officer Jill Lane confirmed the woman had been a front-line health worker at Hutt Hospital.
"Out of respect for the family, I can't say anything more than that, except that it is an incredibly sad situation for everyone."
Swine flu was "highly prevalent" in the Hutt Valley and the greater Wellington region, and it was impossible to know whether the health worker had contracted the virus in the hospital or somewhere in the community, she said.
Meanwhile, pregnant women may be among the first in line to be offered the swine flu vaccine after it was found they are four times more likely to be admitted to hospital than other sufferers of the virus.
Director of public health Mark Jacobs said the Health Ministry's advice for pregnant women had been updated to stress that they should seek early medical advice if they were worried about flu symptoms.
In a study published in British medical journal The Lancet this week, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States found pregnant women with H1N1 swine flu had a much higher risk of severe illness and death.
The researchers concluded that pregnant women suspected of having swine flu should be given Tamiflu as soon as possible, even before tests confirmed the diagnosis, and recommended they be among the first to get the vaccine.
New Zealand is set to get an initial shipment of 300,000 doses of the vaccine, enough for 150,000 people.
Initially, it will be offered only to frontline health staff and emergency personnel but Dr Jacobs said the priority groups for early vaccination would be reviewed in response to emerging evidence.
