Kansas reports first H1N1 death
Staff and Wire Reports
Friday, August 7, 2009
TOPEKA — Health officials on Thursday reported Kansas’ first death of a person with H1N1 flu, saying the Wichita-area resident already suffered from a chronic medical condition made worse by the virus.
Officials didn’t identify the victim and provided few details to protect the person’s privacy. They said only that the victim was from Sedgwick County, was middle-aged and died earlier this week.
Health officials also were careful to say that the victim didn’t die from H1N1 flu, only that it may have been a contributing factor in the death. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said the victim’s case of H1N1 flu was confirmed July 30.
“The individual had a chronic condition,” said Jennifer McCausland, spokeswoman for the Sedgwick County Health Department. “It made them weaker, but H1N1 was not the primary cause of death.”
Lyon County Health Officer Ann Mayo said in a press release that Lyon County is prepared for the flu.
“We do not believe there is currently reason for undue concern,” Mayo said. “Planning for pandemic flu has been ongoing since 2001.”
Swine flu cases have been reported in 41 of the state’s 105 counties since the first two were in Dickinson County in April.
The disease can be dangerous for people who have heart and respiratory problems and other chronic conditions, KDHE spokeswoman Maggie Thompson said.
“What we’re seeing is relatively mild in most people, but it can be very severe in others,” Thompson said.
KDHE officials also said there’s no indication the virus itself is becoming more virulent.
The state is moving away from keeping an exact count of individual H1N1 flu cases, and KDHE’s last reported figure of 247 confirmed cases is likely to be low.
KDHE officials reported Thursday that 23 people with confirmed cases had been hospitalized in the state.
However, in Johnson County alone, home to Kansas City area suburbs, the Health Department reported 33 hospitalizations. Nancy Tausz, its director of disease containment, said not all reports of H1N1 cases go to KDHE. She said Johnson County itself has had between 250 and 300 total cases.
Tausz also said it’s not surprising the state has seen the death of someone who contracted the new flu virus while suffering from a chronic medical condition.
callalily (anonymous) says...
According to the CDC, 86% of the deaths have had underlying conditions - they include the following in their definition of underlying conditions:
obesity
asthma
pregnancy
diabetes
pulmonary disease
cardiovascular disease
neurocognitive disorder
neuromuscular disorder
seizure disorder
renal disease
immunosuppresive disorder
"other" (including hepatic, cancer, immunosuppressed, metabolic disorders)
August 7, 2009 at 1:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
Just like any disease, if your system is already weakened, it can kill you. Regular flu kills thousands a year. I'd like to see a comparision of mortality rates between the standard flu and swine flu. I would be surprised if the swine flu has as nearly as high a mortality rate as what goes around every winter. I am dubious about a vaccine since the last time they vaccinated against a swine flu more people got sick from the vaccine than the flu itself.
August 7, 2009 at 3:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
reddog (K. B. Thomas Jr.) says...
as i understand it, this new flu bug was concocted in a lab. what a revoltin development this is.
August 8, 2009 at 2:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
I thought it was caused by people in Mexico living too close to pigs. Viruses are sneaky critters at the best of times.
August 8, 2009 at 10:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Origins are swine related. In Mexico, in the vicinity of an American hog slaughtering plant, runoff water from the plant was allowed to freely run in the dirt streets of the nearby village. The CDC has tested and found that this village is ground zero. A small child was patient number one.
A good place for facts...
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/background...
August 8, 2009 at 3:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )