Girl who died didn’t exhibit common flu symptoms but was infected with the H1N1 Virus
By Keith Darcé
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
5:34 p.m. October 15, 2009
When 5-year-old Alitza Ortiz Sanchez arrived at a local hospital emergency room last week, she wasn’t suffering from some of the most common flu symptoms, her mother said Thursday.
In fact, Sanchez had been diagnosed with a urinary infection the day before by a doctor in Tijuana. She had a persistent headache and purplish swelling around her eyes, but no fever, sore throat, cough or runny nose.
“We didn’t think it was the flu,” said her mother, Itzya Sanchez, 29.
A test conducted after Alitza arrived at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego revealed that Alitza was infected with the H1N1 virus, but the results arrived after the girl had suffered the first of what would be four heart failures.
Alitza died early Saturday.
Sanchez and Alitza’s father, Miguel Ortiz, were driving to Tijuana on Thursday afternoon for a wake. Most of their relatives live in that city.
Alitza will be buried there
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/oct/15/bn15girl2173421/?metro&zIndex=183499
Houston Teen With Swine Flu Dies
Updated: Thursday, 15 Oct 2009, 4:29 PM CDT
Published : Thursday, 15 Oct 2009, 5:14 PM CDT
MENA EL-SHARKAWI
HOUSTON - A Pasadena ISD high school student died because of swine flu, but he had underlying health conditions, a Houston official said.
The 16-year-old boy is the first teenager in the city of Houston to died from the H1N1 strain, City of Houston’s Health Department Spokeswoman Kathy Barton said.
But the teen had underlying health conditions, the details of which were undisclosed. Barton said that he was a high-risk child who could have benefited from the vaccine.
The boy’s death increased the city of Houston’s swine flu death toll to two.
On Sept. 25, Kenneth Lane Beckett, a 27-year-old Harris County Jail inmate, became the first Houston resident to die from the strain. He, too, had underlying medical conditions.
At least 11 Houston-area residents, including a baby and a Fort Bend County teen, have died because of swine flu. The number includes deaths in Houston and Harris, Fort Bend and Brazoria counties.
Until the H1N1 vaccines become widely available, Barton suggests practicing social hygiene.
— Learn How to Prevent Yourself from Getting Swine Flu: http://www.myfoxhouston.com/subindex/health/swine_flu
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/health/swine_flu/091015_pasadena_teen_swine_flu
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