JimO
Well-known member
Source: http://www.mpbn.net/News/MaineHeadlineNews/tabid/968/ctl/ViewItem/mid/3479/ItemId/9751/Default.aspx
Swine Flu Claims Another Maine Life As Disease Spreads Rapidly
11/12/2009 12:29 PM ET
Maine CDC Director Dr. Dora Anne Mills says the disease is now "surging" in Maine, with 65 schools reporting high absentee rates.
Another person in Maine has died after contracting the H1N1 virus. Maine Center for Disease Control Director Dr. Dora Anne Mills says the victim was a Penobscot County adult "in the 50's" with severe underlying conditions. The identity, gender and hometown of the victim have not been released.
It's the third death connected with the so-called swine flu and the second one this month. In early November, a young adult man, also from Penobscot County, died after contracting H1N1, and a York County man in his fifties died in August. Both of those victims also had serious underlying conditions.
Mills says the disease is now surging in Maine. She says 65 schools are reporting high absentee rates above 15 percent, and in two Maine communities, the schools have been shut down.
Meanwhile, she says, supplies of H1N1 vaccine continue to trickle into the state. She says the state has received 180,400 doses of the vaccine so far, enough for only about a quarter of those considered at high risk, including pregnant women, persons who live with or provide care for infants 6 months or younger, children and young adults 6 months to 24 years old, persons aged 25 to 64 years who have medical conditions that put them at higher risk for influenza-related complications, and health care personnel.
Mills says many schools have already held vaccination clinics for students, and she says by the end of next week, 95 percent of Maine schools will have done so.
Mills says those in high risk categories who have not been able to get vaccinated and have flu symptoms, or have been exposed to the flu, should seek a prescription for an antiviral medication such as Tamiflu, which can lessen the severity of the flu. She says financial help is available for those who are unable to pay for the medication.
Swine Flu Claims Another Maine Life As Disease Spreads Rapidly
11/12/2009 12:29 PM ET
Maine CDC Director Dr. Dora Anne Mills says the disease is now "surging" in Maine, with 65 schools reporting high absentee rates.
Another person in Maine has died after contracting the H1N1 virus. Maine Center for Disease Control Director Dr. Dora Anne Mills says the victim was a Penobscot County adult "in the 50's" with severe underlying conditions. The identity, gender and hometown of the victim have not been released.
It's the third death connected with the so-called swine flu and the second one this month. In early November, a young adult man, also from Penobscot County, died after contracting H1N1, and a York County man in his fifties died in August. Both of those victims also had serious underlying conditions.
Mills says the disease is now surging in Maine. She says 65 schools are reporting high absentee rates above 15 percent, and in two Maine communities, the schools have been shut down.
Meanwhile, she says, supplies of H1N1 vaccine continue to trickle into the state. She says the state has received 180,400 doses of the vaccine so far, enough for only about a quarter of those considered at high risk, including pregnant women, persons who live with or provide care for infants 6 months or younger, children and young adults 6 months to 24 years old, persons aged 25 to 64 years who have medical conditions that put them at higher risk for influenza-related complications, and health care personnel.
Mills says many schools have already held vaccination clinics for students, and she says by the end of next week, 95 percent of Maine schools will have done so.
Mills says those in high risk categories who have not been able to get vaccinated and have flu symptoms, or have been exposed to the flu, should seek a prescription for an antiviral medication such as Tamiflu, which can lessen the severity of the flu. She says financial help is available for those who are unable to pay for the medication.
