Re: W.Va. records first swine flu-related death
September 4, 2009
Dunbar man's death is state's first swine flu fatality
By Kathryn Gregory
Staff writer
Advertiser
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Dunbar man is the first person in West Virginia to die as a result of swine flu.
The 51-year-old man died Thursday night in a Huntington hospital from complications of pneumonia, according to Dr. Rahul Gupta, health officer for the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department.
The man's name was Michael Bloomfield, according to a Kanawha County official. Gupta would not confirm the man's name Friday.
The man, who was in the hospital for five or six days before he died, contracted pneumonia after coming down with the swine flu, which weakened his immune system and made him susceptible to other infections, Gupta said.
Bloomfield worked as nurse at St. Mary's Hospital in Huntington, according to the Kanawha County official who knew the deceased.
While Gupta would not confirm that the man was a health care worker, he said that if he did work in the hospital system, "he most likely would have gotten it from someone who was sick there."
Cabell-Huntington Health Department Director Dr. Harry Tweel also would not name the deceased man, but said that he had underlying medical conditions, which put him in a high-risk group for contracting the virus.
"We know the virus is deadly, especially in a subgroup. And we know for a fact that he was in a subgroup," Gupta said.
Gupta said anyone who has diabetes, heart conditions, lung conditions or is obese can be at a higher risk for contracting the swine flu, and potentially dying.
"While it's tragic that we've have had to lose a person, it's just one more death attributed to the H1N1 flu virus," Gupta said.
As of 9 a.m. Thursday, 556 swine flu deaths had been confirmed around the United States, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control. That did not include Bloomfield's death.
The Kanawha health department is checking if Bloomfield might have exposed anyone else to the swine flu -- including family members, work colleagues and community members.
"Was he sitting in the ER for hours before he was brought in? Did he infect people there? We're looking at everything. It's a highly communicable disease," Gupta said.
He wasn't surprised to hear that we had a death in Kanawha County.
"It's infected almost every other state and lots of other communities. While it's not a list that we should be proud to be on, I'm not surprised that we are," he said.
The flu season usually peaks in February and March, but Gupta thinks the swine flu's peak may happen earlier, given the staying power of the virus during the summer months.
"We need people to be prepared, now," he said. "It's not a time to panic, but you need to get up and learn as much as you can," he said. "If people aren't careful there will be more hospitalizations, which could lead to more deaths."
Gupta again advised people who are sick to stay home from work and not to go out in public. He said paramedics, nurses, doctors and other health care workers should consider wearing a mask when working with patients who might have swine flu.
"At this point, we would encourage people to continue following all of the recommendations to stay safe," he said. "The message is to be careful."
The vaccine for the seasonal flu should be available in mid-September, and the swine flu vaccine should be out in mid-October. Target groups, including pregnant women, infants, people with underlying medical conditions and health care workers will be some of the first to receive the vaccine.
On Tuesday, the health department, working with Kanawha County and Charleston officials, will host a H1N1 health symposium for hospital, school, college and emergency services providers and others to review planning efforts to combat swine flu.
The Associated Press contributed to this story. Reach Kathryn Gregory at kathr...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5119.
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