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Source: http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/sep/18/fourth-swine-flu-death-reported-family-st-lucie-co/
St. Lucie County's fourth swine flu death reported by family
By Hillary Copsey (Contact)
Originally published 10:32 a.m., September 18, 2009
Updated 10:32 a.m., September 18, 2009
PORT ST. LUCIE ? The family of Octavio Lancieri, 49, who died Tuesday, says he had swine flu, making him the fourth St. Lucie County man to die with the H1N1 virus.
But St. Lucie County health officials have not confirmed the diagnosis. The H1N1 confirmation test, which is done at state labs for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, can take as long as a week to get back.
Doctors at an urgent care center diagnosed Lancieri with influenza A ? typically an indicator of the H1N1 virus, which accounts for about 98 percent of all flu cases, according to national health officials ? last Saturday, said his sister-in-law Angela Lancieri. He was given Tamiflu, an antiviral medication, and sent home.
By Monday, when his older brother Anthony checked on him, Lancieri?s condition had worsened considerably. The family called 911 and he was taken to St. Lucie Medical Center.
Angela Lancieri said her brother-in-law went to the intensive care unit, where doctors and nurses worked hard to help him. But Tuesday, Lancieri died.
Hospital officials confirmed Lancieri?s death, but would not release details about his condition or treatment because of privacy laws.
Doctors told the family Lancieri had a bacterial infection, complicated by the H1N1 virus, that attacked his heart and lungs, Angela Lancieri said.
?It was just a terrible, terrible death the way he suffered,? Angela Lancieri said. ? ... People don?t realize how serious this virus is. They think they can take over-the-counter (medicine), but they don?t realize. Don?t wait.?
Family members who visited Lancieri have taken the rapid flu test and have had negative results.
St. Lucie County's fourth swine flu death reported by family
By Hillary Copsey (Contact)
Originally published 10:32 a.m., September 18, 2009
Updated 10:32 a.m., September 18, 2009
PORT ST. LUCIE ? The family of Octavio Lancieri, 49, who died Tuesday, says he had swine flu, making him the fourth St. Lucie County man to die with the H1N1 virus.
But St. Lucie County health officials have not confirmed the diagnosis. The H1N1 confirmation test, which is done at state labs for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, can take as long as a week to get back.
Doctors at an urgent care center diagnosed Lancieri with influenza A ? typically an indicator of the H1N1 virus, which accounts for about 98 percent of all flu cases, according to national health officials ? last Saturday, said his sister-in-law Angela Lancieri. He was given Tamiflu, an antiviral medication, and sent home.
By Monday, when his older brother Anthony checked on him, Lancieri?s condition had worsened considerably. The family called 911 and he was taken to St. Lucie Medical Center.
Angela Lancieri said her brother-in-law went to the intensive care unit, where doctors and nurses worked hard to help him. But Tuesday, Lancieri died.
Hospital officials confirmed Lancieri?s death, but would not release details about his condition or treatment because of privacy laws.
Doctors told the family Lancieri had a bacterial infection, complicated by the H1N1 virus, that attacked his heart and lungs, Angela Lancieri said.
?It was just a terrible, terrible death the way he suffered,? Angela Lancieri said. ? ... People don?t realize how serious this virus is. They think they can take over-the-counter (medicine), but they don?t realize. Don?t wait.?
Family members who visited Lancieri have taken the rapid flu test and have had negative results.
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