a new death in McLean County, Illinois...
18-year-old man becomes McLean Co.’s 2nd H1N1 fatality
By Paul Swiech | pswiech@pantagraph.com | Posted: Tuesday, November 3, 2009 7:10 pm | No Comments Posted
BLOOMINGTON — An 18-year-old male who died Tuesday was McLean County’s second H1N1 influenza fatality.
The McLean County Health Department announced Tuesday evening that the man was admitted to a local hospital on Oct. 17 and later transferred to the intensive care unit.
The man had underlying medical conditions, as did the county’s first H1N1 victim, the health department said. A 56-year-old woman died Oct. 22.
Meanwhile, the number of confirmed cases of the novel virus continues to rise. In McLean County, 32 people have been confirmed as having the virus, health department spokeswoman Jan Morris said.
Statewide, 731 people have been hospitalized and 28 people have died of H1N1, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
But health officials have said that the confirmed cases are people who have been hospitalized and have had a test to confirm the diagnosis. Many more people have had H1N1 but weren’t sick enough to be hospitalized.
“It is likely we will see additional cases,” health department Director Walt Howe said. “All efforts are being made to dispense the H1N1 vaccine as soon as it is made available to the health department.”
Howe urged everyone to wash their hands, cough and sneeze into their sleeves and stay home when they’re sick. Anyone experiencing flu-like symptoms — fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue — should stay home and call their doctor.
About 4,700 people were vaccinated at the health department’s two public H1N1 flu vaccination clinics during the past two weeks. Howe said another public clinic would be scheduled when the next shipment of injection vaccine arrives.
Meanwhile, the health department announced late Tuesday that it will have an H1N1 intranasal vaccination clinic for McLean County health care providers only from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Calvary United Methodist Church, 1700 N. Towanda Ave., Normal. The nasal spray vaccine is for healthy people ages 2 through 49 who aren’t pregnant.
Health care providers will have to show proof of employment.
http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/article_16198cf2-c8df-11de-b1fd-001cc4c03286.html
Swine-Flu Deaths Higher in the Elderly
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703740004574513903595607412.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLTopStories
By JENNIFER CORBETT DOOREN * NOVEMBER 4, 2009
People age 50 and older who were hospitalized with the swine flu in California had the highest fatality rate from the illness, while those younger than 18 had the lowest death rates.
Researchers from the California Department of Public Health looked at 1,088 cases of hospitalization and death attributed to H1N1 from April 23—shortly after the virus was discovered—through Aug. 11.
The findings will be published in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association.
While hospitalization rates in California were highest for infants and young adults ages 18 to 29 and lower for older people, the findings suggest older people who are hospitalized are more likely to die.
“Despite reports that elderly persons may be ‘protected’ by pre-existing immunity, clinicians should closely monitor and promptly treat hospitalized patients with pandemic 2009 influenza A H1N1 infection,” researchers wrote.
Still, similar to statistics collected by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, data in California show H1N1 is hitting young people harder than what’s typically seen for seasonal flu. The median age of hospitalized patients in California was 27.