Five additional H1N1 or swine flu virus-related deaths were reported in the state this past week, officials said Monday.
That brings the total number of deaths from the virus statewide to 59 since April, when the flu virus was first identified, officials said.
Of the 59 H1N1-related deaths, 54 have been investigated. Of those:
•More than 60 percent were men. •The average age was 44 years old. •The age range of those who died was between 3 months and 73 years old. •About 46 percent - or 25 people - were between the ages of 45 and 64. About 7 percent - or four people - were between the ages of 0 and 17, and 11 percent - or six people - were over the age of 65.
Of those who died, 43 people had at least one underlying health condition, such as asthma, diabetes or a disorder that suppresses their immune system. Those who died over the holiday weekend were between the ages of 23 and 59, and all had an underlying health condition.
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Death of 40-year-old Sault teacher has school in mourning
Posted By Michael Purvis
Updated 6 hours ago
http://www.saultstar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2199751
Taunya Richardson will miss Rita De Marco’s laugh, and her smile, but most of all, she’ll miss her 40-year-old friend’s singing voice.
“She would be one of the first people to call and she would sing Happy Birthday to me every year,” said Richardson, a close friend of the elementary school teacher. “She never forgot, and she always sang.”
De Marco died unexpectedly Friday from what family members described as a week-long illness that started out as the flu.
Counsellors and school board officials were at St. Bernadette Catholic school Monday to help students and staff cope with the Grade 4 teacher’s death.
John Stadnyk, director of education for the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board, said students were emotional.
“The parents of the class were contacted (Sunday), so I think the parents talked with the children and we had several of the parents here this morning with the kids,” said Stadnyk.
He said the board’s ‘pastoral response team,’ met with staff at the school on Sunday.
De Marco was a “happy, outgoing and boisterous,” woman who returned to school later in life to fulfill her dream of being a teacher, said her sister, Maria Caputo.
De Marco had no children and never married, but “loved being around kids,” said Caputo. “All of her students were like her children and every year she got a new batch.”
Caputo said her sister, who lived with and cared for her elderly parents, fell ill with the flu about eight days before her death. She was admitted to Sault Area Hospital’s intensive care unit on Nov. 21 with pneumonia.
“It was supposed to be just 48 hours, but she didn’t come out of it,” said Caputo. “Finally her heart just couldn’t take it anymore.”
Caputo said her sister died of a streptococcus A infection.
Caputo said family weren’t told if the flu De Marco came down with was H1N1. While public health officials can’t comment on individual cases, Dr. Allan Northan, the region’s medical officer of health, said no H1N1 deaths are currently suspected in Algoma, and he knows of none that have taken place.
Caputo said her sister had been a teacher for eight years. She started out on the supply list, before securing her own classroom at St. John, then at St. Francis and finally at St. Bernadette.
Richardson, who met De Marco just shy of 10 years ago when they were placed together on a Bon Soo Sno Madness team, said De Marco was always there for friends who were going through difficult times.
“She loved life and she embraced it,” said Richardson.
A wake is scheduled for today at Northwood Funeral Home and Cremation Centre, with a funeral mass scheduled for Wednesday at 2 p.m.