Just your average flu - please move on nothing to see here.....
5th Calvert family member at hospital
By Lena H. Sun, Wednesday, March 7, 11:00 AM
A fifth member of the Calvert County family stricken by serious lung infections and complications of flu is at MedStar Washington Hospital Center for evaluation, a spokeswoman said Wednesday. Three family members have died in the past week.
The newest person to come under medical attention is the sister of Lou Ruth Blake, 81. Blake died at her home in Lusby on March 1. The sister has a fever but does not appear to have other flulike symptoms, the spokeswoman said.
Blake’s son, 58, and one daughter, 56, died Monday after they were hospitalized with upper respiratory symptoms. They had been taking care of their mother.
A second daughter, 51, who had also been a caregiver, is improving and is likely to be moved out of intensive care some time Wednesday, according to hospital spokeswoman So Young Pak.
Hospital officials said tests confirmed that the siblings who died had a strain of the influenza A virus and each also acquired a serious staph infection before they were hospitalized. The two developed severe bacterial pneumonia, which is not uncommon in people infected with the flu virus. The flu virus weakens and damages the lungs, and infection develops when bacteria invade.
Calvert County health officials said in a statement Wednesday that the cases were isolated to a single family and “there are currently no other affected individuals.” They said local health-care providers are not reporting any significant increase in patients with flulike symptoms.
Calvert County health officials have also been testing inside Blake’s home to determine whether there are additional substances there that could have contributed to the illnesses.