Mysterious U.S. Swine Flu Probe Widens as Mexico Finds Swine Flu *updated*

Swine Flu Kills Sixth Connecticut Resident

A New Haven County resident in their 40's infected with the swine flu has died after a recent hospitalization. The individual had underlying medical conditions.

This is the sixth swine flu death in the state.

A total of 824 Connecticut residents are reported to have swine flu -- 36 of those have been hospitalized.
.

double post, sorry

[edit on 29-6-2009 by sonjah1]

2nd H1N1 Death Reported In Mass.

84-Year-Old Man Died On June 18BOSTON (WBZ)
Tests confirmed that an elderly man who died on June 18, was infected with the H1N1 virus, according to the Boston Public Health Commission. The 84-year-old's death marks the second fatal case of the disease in Massachusetts.

"It is with great sadness that we have learned today of the death of a Boston resident from illness associated with H1N1. We extend our deepest sympathy to this person's family and friends,'' said Barbara Ferrer, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission.

"While most cases of H1N1 in Boston and nationwide have been less severe, this news demonstrates how serious influenza can be," Ferrer said.

The patient was hospitalized on June 12 and died six days later. Today, his tests results came back positive for the H1N1 virus. The patient had several serious underlying health conditions that placed him at high risk of complications from the flu.

The victim is a 30-year-old woman from Boston. She got sick on June 5 and was hospitalized on June 10.

She died on June 14.

The details behind the woman's death are not known. It is unclear if the woman had another medical issue when she was diagnosed with H1N1, also known as swine flu.

Health officials said the vast majority of people who are diagnosed with H1N1 usually recovery from the illness, but there are some groups that are at a higher risk of complications, including children under the age of 2, adults over the age of 65, pregnant people and people with chronic conditions.

As of Friday, June 26, there were 474 confirmed cases of H1N1 flu in Boston and 70 hospitalizations.

In Massachusetts, there were 1287 confirmed cases and 134 hospitalizations as of Thursday, June 25. By contrast, seasonal influenza causes 250,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths each year nationwide.

wbztv.com...

First Swine Flu Death in Travis County

TRAVIS COUNTY - A 49-year-old man from Pflugerville has died from the H1N1 influenza A virus (Swine Flu). The Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department reports that this is the first death related to the virus in Travis County. No other details have been released at this time.

As of Friday, June 26, there were 113 confirmed cases and 1 probable case of H1N1 Influenza identified in Travis County. There are 2,982 confirmed and probable cases and 13 deaths have been reported in 95 counties.

"Given the fact that several deaths in Texas and hundreds globally have occurred due to this illness - this is not an unexpected event. We continue to coordinate with local, state and national partners to monitor the spread of this ilness," said Dr. Phil Huang, Medical Director for Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services.
.

Health Dept: Third swine flu death reported in Suffolk

A third death in Suffolk County has been linked to swine flu, the county Health Department announced Monday.

The victim, a man from the Town of Babylon between the ages of 65 and 75, had "a serious underlying medical condition," Suffolk Health Commissioner Dr. Humayun Chaudhry said in a news release.

The man, who died Monday, had been hospitalized since early June with "multiple medical problems," Chaudhry said.

The state Department of Health confirmed the man had H1N1 earlier this month.
.

Costa Rica confirms second death of A/H1N1 flu

SAN JOSE, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Costa Rican Health Ministry on Monday confirmed the second death of the A/H1N1 flu in the country.

A 36-year-old woman died in hospital with complication from high blood pressure and lung problems.
.

2 million flew from Mexico as H1N1 flu began

www.deseretnews.com...

ATLANTA — In a startling measure of just how widely a new disease can spread, researchers found that more than 2.3 million people flew from Mexico to more than 1,000 cities worldwide in March and April as the novel H1N1 influenza (swine flu) epidemic was unfolding.

Passengers traveled to 164 countries, but four out of five of those went to the United States. That fits with the pattern of the epidemic, say researchers reporting their findings Monday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The research shows promise in forecasting how a new contagion might unfold, indicated one government health official who praised the work.

"We share a common interest in this issue: If we map the global airline distribution network, can we anticipate, once a virus emerges, where it is likely to show up next?" asked Dr. Martin Cetron of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He leads CDC's division of global migration and quarantine.

The new swine flu virus was first reported in the United States in mid-April, but the first large outbreak was in Mexico at about the same time. Health officials believe cases of the new virus were circulating in Mexico in March.

Scientists have long assumed a relationship between air travel and spread of the virus. But the new research for the first time confirmed the relationship, said Dr. Kamran Khan, who led the study. He is a researcher at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto.

For years, Khan and his colleagues have been working on a system to use air travel information quickly to determine how a new contagion is likely to spread around the world.

Their data sources include the International Air Transport Association, an international trade association representing 230 airlines and the vast majority of scheduled international air traffic.

The study showed the majority of passengers flew to the United States, with Canada a distant second and France a more distant third.

More than 90 percent of the time, Khan and his colleagues accurately matched air traffic volumes to which countries did and did not suffer H1N1 flu outbreaks as a result of air traffic.

The top 11 destination cities from Mexico were all in the United States. Los Angeles was the leader, receiving about 9 percent of all passengers from Mexico, and New York City was second, with about 5 percent.

In contrast, the only South American entry in the top 40 destination cities was Buenos Aires, at No. 22. Passengers were even fewer when it came to cities in neighboring Guatemala and other Central American countries.

The data show not only how disease spreads out of Mexico, but also that air travel is mainly among more industrialized countries, experts said.

TEMPE, Ariz. – There is no way to know how the newest strain of the H1N1 influenza virus will behave in the future. But scientists, notably those working at the intersections of epidemiology, mathematics, modeling and statistics, are monitoring it closely to identify anomalies on its pattern of spread while evaluating ways of mitigating its impact.

"Public health officials have the ability to track confirmed cases and hospitalizations in real-time with modern data collection approaches and the aid of modeling as well as the ability to quickly identify new strains and track their evolution," says mathematical epidemiologist Gerardo Chowell-Puente, an assistant professor at Arizona State University's School of Human Evolution and Social Change in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Chowell-Puente is co-author of a new study of the A(H1N1) influenza pandemic strain circulating around the world. The study's findings reveal an age shift in the proportion of cases toward a younger population when compared with historical patterns of seasonal influenza in Mexico. The findings are published June 29 online in the New England Journal of Medicine. Other authors of "Reported severe respiratory disease and deaths concurrent with atypical A(H1N1) influenza circulation of swine origin in Mexico, 2009" include Stefano Bertozzi and Arantxa Colchero, Mexico's National Institute of Public Health; Hugo Lopez-Gatell, Celia Alpuche and Mauricio Hernandez, Mexico Ministry of Health; and Mark A. Miller, National Institutes of Health Fogarty International Center,

"The data show that the vast majority of cases of severe pneumonia and deaths occurred among those ages between 5 and 59, which is atypical when compared with the age pattern supported by seasonal flu," says Chowell-Puente. "If resources or vaccine supplies are limited, focusing prevention efforts on these age classes must be considered."

Specifically, according to the findings, 87 percent of the deaths and 71 percent of the cases of severe pneumonia occurred in persons aged 5-59, compared to an average 17 percent and 32 percent, respectively, for influenza seasons from 2006 through 2008. "These findings suggest relative protection for those persons exposed to H1N1 influenza viruses during childhood prior to the 1957 pandemic," Chowell-Puente says.

Chowell-Puente and other mathematicians and biostaticians attending a swine flu workshop at Arizona State University June 25-28, note that vaccines and anti-viral medications are in limited supply.

"Because achieving high vaccination rates before the fall is not feasible with current technologies, effective distribution of a limited vaccine and antiviral stockpiles will be crucial to mitigate a potential second pandemic wave. The seasonal influenza vaccination strategy focuses on the very young and the very old – the most vulnerable populations. This is not necessarily the case for pandemics as we showed in our study."

According to Chowell-Puente, the key to containing pandemic flu is closely tied in to the ability to quickly produce a good stockpile of vaccines and following a reactive distribution plan that targets the appropriate age cohorts of the population. The first wave of the current strain has not been particularly deadly, but subsequent waves may be more virulent, though it is too early to tell, he notes.

"For the 1918 ("Spanish flu") influenza pandemic, this was the pattern – first a mild wave, and then a severe one with higher case fatality rates," notes Chowell-Puente.

The features of the A(H1N1) epidemic, according to the findings, are "somewhat similar to past influenza pandemics in that circulation of a new influenza virus is associated with an unseasonal wave of disease affecting a younger population."

It is the hope of Chowell-Puente that making this data available will help politicians make science-based decisions on how to optimize the use of limited resources to manage this and future epidemics.

In addition to this latest research, Chowell-Puente also was a co-author on a recent study of the flu in Japan. "Here we looked at the public health strategies they used that essentially stopped the spread of the disease in its tracks," he says.

The researchers found that in Japan, more than 90 percent of the cases were in school-aged children and teens. Quick action was taken to contain the disease through school closures and other social distancing measures, such as avoiding use of public transportation and the use of face masks. In addition, Japan employed active surveillance at airports, using recently developed sensors to detect passengers with fevers for additional screening. The disease was contained within two-to-three weeks, with only about 500 cases and no fatalities. Findings from this study appeared in the June 4 issue of Eurosurveillance in an article titled "Transmission potential of the new influenza A(H1N1) virus and its age-specificity in Japan."

Other authors on the Japanese study include: Hiroshi Nishiura, University of Utrecht, the Netherlands; Carlos Castillo-Chavez, Arizona State University; and Muntaser Safan, Mansoura University, Egypt.

Reducing the spread of the disease is key to preventing deaths, according to Chowell-Puente. "As transmissibility grows, timely implementation of control measures is key to reduce epidemic impact on the population

MONDAY, June 29 (HealthDay News) -- Countries that received the most airline passengers from Mexico this spring were the most likely to see H1N1 swine flu infection, new research says.www.forbes.com...

[edit on 29-6-2009 by wizardwars]

OTTAWA (AFP) – Canadian health officials expressed alarm Monday that the swine flu is affecting younger people hardest.

Preliminary data shows that the A(H1N1) virus has mostly infected people under the age of 20 in Canada, and relatively few people over 65 have contracted it.

During seasonal influenza outbreaks, it is usually the elderly who account for 25 percent of infections, and most deaths.

"So this is quite different," Chief Public Health Officer David Butler-Jones told a press conference.

"The vast majority of the cases continue to be mild, at least mild for influenza, but we are seeing some pockets of more severe illness," he said.

"Although we do expect some cases to be severe in any influenza outbreak, especially when there is underlying factors such as chronic lung disease or diabetes, there are some cases (now) where the individual was previously healthy before catching this virus and rapidly has progressed to severe illness and required a ventilator," he said.

"We're obviously concerned by these severe cases," he added.

Butler-Jones said health authorities are closely monitoring the severe cases to try to understand why some people are suffering worse symptoms than others.

He suggested "the virus itself may be changing and becoming more virulent," or there may be "immunity differences" or other factors that could account for the differences.

But "we don't have an answer yet," he said. "We're still speculating, (and) there is a whole range of possibilities that are being looked at."

Canada has confirmed 7,983 cases of swine flu nationwide, the third-largest number in the world, including 636 requiring hospitalization, and 25 deaths.

An A(H1N1) flu vaccine is being developed and is to be available by late October, officials said.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq is to travel to the United States and Mexico in the coming days to discuss "lessons learned" so far in this pandemic, she said.

The Health Blog sported our Johnny Damon T-shirt to Citi Field on Saturday night to watch the Yankees play the Mets. But we were disappointed to find out that Damon wasn’t in the Yankees’ lineup, nor was Derek Jeter. Both had the flu.

The illness has been making its way through the Yankees’ clubhouse over the past several days. It also kept Jeter out of the lineup on Friday, his 35th birthday, as the New York Daily News noted. Other players who’ve had symptoms recently include Hideki Matsui, Melky Cabrera, Phil Hughes and Chien-Ming Wang, the New York Post reported.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said the players haven’t been tested for the new strain of the flu, known as H1N1 or swine flu, that has been traveling the globe, the Post said.

We put in a call to Brian Currie, an infectious disease specialist and medical director for research at Montefiore Medical Center in the Yanks’ home borough of the Bronx. Currie, who isn’t involved with the Yankees’ care, told us the “overwhelming likelihood” is that swine flu is what they have, assuming they picked up the illness in New York. That’s because seasonal flu has almost completely stopped circulating in New York City, he says.

Either way, once a virus makes it into a clubhouse, it spreads easily. “They travel either by bus or plane, or in restricted areas,” Currie points out. “They’re in team meetings. There’s ample opportunity for spread” of the illness.

The Mets have had their share of illness this month, including a bug that afflicted the team’s general manager, Omar Minaya. But as the Post reported, Minaya said he was tested and did not have swine flu.

Currie, a Mets fan, tells us he watched all three games in the Subway Series this weekend. The flu “didn’t help any,” he jokes. The Yankees swept the Mets.

Pneumonia and Respiratory Failure from Swine-Origin Influenza A (H1N1) in Mexico
content.nejm.org...
snippet below much more @link from New England Journal of Medicine, published today...

Background In late March 2009, an outbreak of a respiratory illness later proved to be caused by novel swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus (S-OIV) was identified in Mexico. We describe the clinical and epidemiologic characteristics of persons hospitalized for pneumonia at the national tertiary hospital for respiratory illnesses in Mexico City who had laboratory-confirmed S-OIV infection, also known as swine flu.
Methods We used retrospective medical chart reviews to collect data on the hospitalized patients. S-OIV infection was confirmed in specimens with the use of a real-time reverse-transcriptase–polymerase-chain-reaction assay.
Results From March 24 through April 24, 2009, a total of 18 cases of pneumonia and confirmed S-OIV infection were identified among 98 patients hospitalized for acute respiratory illness at the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases in Mexico City. More than half of the 18 case patients were between 13 and 47 years of age, and only 8 had preexisting medical conditions. For 16 of the 18 patients, this was the first hospitalization for their illness; the other 2 patients were referred from other hospitals. All patients had fever, cough, dyspnea or respiratory distress, increased serum lactate dehydrogenase levels, and bilateral patchy pneumonia. Other common findings were an increased creatine kinase level (in 62% of patients) and lymphopenia (in 61%). Twelve patients required mechanical ventilation, and seven died. Within 7 days after contact with the initial case patients, a mild or moderate influenza-like illness developed in 22 health care workers; they were treated with oseltamivir, and none were hospitalized.
Conclusions S-OIV infection can cause severe illness, the acute respiratory distress syndrome, and death in previously healthy persons who are young to middle-aged. None of the secondary infections among health care workers were severe.

This case series of the first 18 patients hospitalized in Mexico City with S-OIV infection documents the clinical findings of severe illness or death associated with S-OIV infection that were seen during the beginning of the S-OIV pandemic. The patients, most of them previously healthy, had an influenza-like illness that progressed during a period of 5 to 7 days, had pneumonia, and had findings during the first day of hospital admission that fulfilled the criteria of acute lung injury or the acute respiratory distress syndrome.12 Seven patients died, all from multiorgan system failure. The most consistent laboratory characteristics were increased lactate dehydrogenase level, a total leukocyte count within normal limits, lymphopenia,13 and increased creatine kinase level, most likely due to myositis (or myocardial ischemia, in one patient).
The patients described were part of an epidemic of influenza-like illness with pneumonia seen at our institution and other Mexican hospitals, and only a fraction of them tested positive for S-OIV. A false negative test in patients who had infection with S-OIV would be more likely if the test were delayed or if patients had limited viral shedding. In general, patients who tested negative for S-OIV had a milder clinical course than those who tested positive but were as much a part of the burden of the epidemic as those who were not tested.
Risk factors for severe S-OIV illness are still unknown, but most of our patients were young to middle-aged and had previously been healthy. The majority of the S-OIV infections reported in other countries have been mild, influenza-like illnesses.2 Mexico has also reported a large number of persons with mild disease, through the national surveillance system for influenza, but the full spectrum of clinical illness has not been determined. Other countries will probably report more severe infections as the pandemic spreads and the number of infected persons increases. One contributing factor for death in our patients may have been delayed admission and delayed initiation of oseltamivir. For seasonal influenza, the elderly and young children are at higher risk for severe disease; however, more than half of our patients were between 13 and 47 years of age, which was similar to the age distribution reported in national data of H1N1 infections in Mexico.6 During the 1918 pandemic, a large number of deaths were associated with bacterial infection,14 but concurrent bacterial infection does not appear to be a major contributing factor to the severity of illness in our patients, possibly in part because most received antibiotics before hospitalization.
Mortality among the patients requiring mechanical ventilation was 58%, and although four patients had nosocomial pneumonia, in most of our patients, lung damage was most likely due to the primary effect of infection with influenza virus. Possible mechanisms of damage include direct injury to the respiratory epithelium15 with a secondary cytokine storm. We do not currently know whether our patients, especially those who died, had viremia, as was reported in association with H5N1 infection, a very aggressive variety of influenza.13,16,17,18 Coinfection with other respiratory viruses could also explain the increased pathogenicity among our patients19,20; however, no other common respiratory viruses were found in our patients. Only three of the patients had received influenza vaccine in fall 2009, since most patients were within the age groups for which vaccine was not recommended in Mexico. It is currently unknown whether seasonal vaccination offered any protection against S-OIV infection, however. We did not find a factor that, before the onset of illness, predicted a worse outcome or death among our patients.

[edit on 29-6-2009 by sonjah1]

Indonesia’s first cases of the new H1N1 flu, known as swine flu, have raised concerns that if the virus spreads it could combine with the entrenched and deadly H5N1 avian influenza to create a more lethal strain of flu.

Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari, who confirmed six new H1N1 cases on Sunday, said she was concerned about H1N1, widely known as swine flu, "marrying" with H5N1 avian flu.

Influenza viruses not only mutate quickly and unpredictably, but they can swap genes,especially if a person or animal becomes infected with two strains at once. The new H1N1 strain is itself a mixture of various strains, genetic tests show.

Even if this worst-case scenario did not occur, experts say populous, developing countries such as Indonesia, India or Egypt, where healthcare systems can be rudimentary, will suffer more deaths from the new virus.

H5N1 bird flu has been circulating in Asia for years and has hit Indonesia harder than any other country.

Although it only rarely infects people, it has killed 262 out of 433 infected globally since 2003, with 141 of those cases in Indonesia.

"We are scared because we are the warehouse of the world’s most virulent H5N1," Supari said.

"I am worried if the viruses encounter each other in the field," C.A. Nidom, the head of the Avian Influenza lab at Airlangga University in Surabaya, said.

The World Health Organisation declared a pandemic of H1N1 swine flu earlier this month and said the virus causes a moderately severe flu, spreading very easily from person to person.

H5N1 spreads mostly from a bird to a person and stops there, but is far deadlier.

The mortality rate for H1N1 is 0.2 percent, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, while for H5N1 it is just over 60 percent.

www.nydailynews.com...&D

More prepping for the swine flu pandemic

A few days ago we posted about hedge funds getting ready for a swine flu pandemic. At the time we wondered what other industries and businesses were getting ready. We don’t know the answer, but we are seeing more signs the message has gotten through. Yesterday we saw this story about a regional airport in Arizona:

The Valley’s Mesa-based reliever airport is gearing up to operate with a surprisingly lean staff should the Swine Flu pandemic decimate the airfield’s workforce.

Keeping Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport flightworthy with a skeleton crew was added earlier this month to mandatory emergency preparedness training that airport managers say is vital to sustain services when they’re most needed at the former Air Force Base.

[snip]

At the state’s biggest airport, Phoenix Sky Harbor International, a "continuity of operations plan is consistently exercised and reviewed in the event of incidents like this," said airport spokeswoman, Alisa Smith.

Operating Gateway with a couple dozen employees, almost a quarter of its entire workforce, may sound like an invitation to chaos, said Williams.

But with the H1N1 swine-flu virus outbreak now classified as a global pandemic and expectations that the disease will make many more Arizonans ill and unable to work this fall, preparing to operate the airport with a decimated staff is essential, she said.

"Luck is not a strategic plan," Williams said. "We have to quit the denial that this can’t happen to us." (Art Thomason, Arizona Republic)

The Gateway plan is interesting for its common sense. Airport managers know that if the well-being of employees families is not secured first, they can forget about their having workers show up. They are concentrating on home front preparedness, with family emergency data information, medical history, family emergency supply and readiness checklists. They are now working on a Disaster Employee Support Team to provide timely information about non-operational matters like employee status to allow operational managers and other critical personnel to focus on the business of running the airport:

Phase three will focus on the extended family and pooling available resources to family members while employees are engaged in airport response and recovery efforts.

Though the disaster plan is meticulous and its training requirements time-consuming, the airport has a head start on emergency response in that scores of its employees are already skilled in two or more technical disciplines, airport officials said.

"Cross training of staff is a critical component of emergency preparedness," said Airport Executive Director, Lynn Kusy. "Our airfield maintenance technicians have been formally trained in airport operations, most of our department leaders have experience in more than one element of airport management, and we make it a practice to hire deeply skilled aviation employees."

This is a small regional airport. I don’t know how many other efforts like this are underway, but this is quite impressive.

And I hope not that unusual.

Flutrackers Confirmed U.S. Fatalities 6/29/09 .....

Arizona - 9
California - 19
Connecticut - 6
Florida - 2
Illinois - 13
Maryland - 1
Massachusetts - 2
Michigan - 7
Minnesota - 1
Missouri - 1
Nevada - 2
New Jersey - 6
New York - 42
North Carolina - 2
Oklahoma - 1
Oregon - 3
Pennsylvania - 4
Rhode Island - 1
Texas - 16
Utah - 10
Virginia - 1
Washington - 3
Wisconsin - 4

TOTAL - 156

#150 Nevada - Clark County, 33 year old man died 6/28/09 reported 6/29/09 *no underlying conditions, hospitalized 6/15
#151 California - San Diego County, 49 year old woman reported 6/29/09
#152 California - San Diego County, 75 year old man reported 6/29/09
#153 Connecticut - New Haven County, unidentified person 40-49 years old reported 6/29/09 *unspecified underlying conditions, recently hospitalized
#154 Massachusetts - Boston, 84 year old man, died 6/18/09 reported 6/29/09 *hospitalized 6/12, confirmed H1N1 postmortem 6/29
#155 New York - Suffolk County, Babylon, unidentified man 65-75 years old died 6/29/09 reported 6/29/09 *serious underlying medical condition, multiple medical problems, hospitalized since early June, confirmed H1N1 earlier in the month
#156 Texas - Austin-Travis County, Pflugerville 49 year old man reported 6/29/09

U.S. Deaths Abroad:

#1 Canada, Ontario - Mill Valley, California resident Robert A. Derzon, a 78 year old man, died in Orangeville while visiting a friend, died 6/17/09 reported 6/17/09 *son confirms that it was H1N1

new info in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Texas--several ATS posts to include--anyone have time to data en/excel this

Confirm. U.S. Deaths - Details6/29/09

Arizona: 9
#1 Maricopa County female in her late 40's, died week of 5/3 reported 5/14/09 *lung condition
#2 Pinal County, Gila River Reservation 57 year old female, died 5/10/09 reported 5/19/09 *unspecified pre-existing conditions, compromised immune system
#3 Pima County, Tuscon 13 year old boy, Johnny Ruiz Cotter died 5/15/09 reported 5/20/09 *severe medical conditions, cerebral palsy
#4 Pima County 10 year old female, died 5/17/09 reported 5/27/09
#5 Pinal County 64 year old female, died week of 5/24/09 reported 6/4/09 *unspecified underlying conditions
#6 No location given, 6th death in the state, unidentified person 25 to 64 years old, reported 6/10/09 by AZ DHS
#7 No location given, 7th death in the state, unidentified person 0-4 years old, reported 6/18/09 by AZ DHS
#8 No location given, 8th death in the state, unidentified person 25-64 years old, reported 6/24/09 by AZ DHS
#9 Cuchino County, adolescent boy reported 6/26/09 *hospitalized in Flagstaff, died week of 6/26, tested H1N1 positive postmortem

California: 19
#1 San Bernadino County male in his 40's, died mid May reported 6/1/09 *pneumonia, heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, died at home
#2 Los Angeles County, middle aged female, died late May reported 6/1/09 *unspecified underlying conditions
#3 Contra Costa County, Concord 9 year old girl, Karen Perez died 5/29/09 reported 6/4/09 *secondary bacterial infection, previously healthy
#4 Orange County middle aged male, reported 6/8/09 *unspecified pre-existing conditions
#5 Alameda County middle aged male, died 6/10/09 reported 6/11/09 *unspecified chronic conditions
#6 Alameda County middle aged male, reported 6/9/09 *unspecified chronic conditions
#7 San Diego County, San Marcos, 20 year old woman, Adela Chevalier, reported 6/16/09 *healthy, not a student and had not recently traveled, slight fever 6/13, respiratory symptoms 6/14, went to ER 6/15, died within 24 hours from respiratory complications without leaving ER, confirmed with H1N1 6/16
#8 Contra Costa County, middle aged man reported 6/17/09 *no other health conditions, no known connection with the other Contra Costa death
#9 San Mateo County, middle aged woman reported 6/22/09 *underlying heart and lung conditions, "This individual could easily have died if she just got seasonal flu" - Chief Health Officer Scott Morrow
#10 Sacramento County, 24 year old woman Beth Kizere, died 6/23/09 reported 6/23/09 * "healthy, robust, energetic", became sick on a trip to Las Vegas, started with a dry scratchy cough and fluctuating temperature, no medical insurance, did not seek care right away, sought care when fever reached 104 deg., hospitalized 6/13, initially suspected to have pneumonia, H1N1 confirmed 6/17
#11 Contra Costa, unidentified person, reported 6/25/09
#12 Los Angeles, unidentified person, reported 6/25/09 Is this Cristian Torres Rodriguez ??
#13 Orange County, unidentified person, reported 6/25/09
#14 Orange County, unidentified person, reported 6/25/09
#15 Sonoma County, unidentified person, no report date? Is this Sonoma County, elderly man died 6/19/09 reported 6/19/09??
#16 San Mateo, died 6/22/09 reported 6/25/09 *obese, had a lung condition which may have contributed to his death, H1N1 confirmed 6/25 postmortem
#17 Solano County, 53 year old man reported 6/25/09 *healthy, California's 17th death
#18 San Diego County, 49 year old woman reported 6/29/09
#19 San Diego County, 75 year old man reported 6/29/09



Connecticut: 6
#1 Waterbury female over 60, reported 6/3/09 *underlying health conditions including diabetes
#2 Waterbury 6 year old child, reported 6/11/09 *serious pulmonary condition, out of school all year
#3 Waterbury female in her 40's, died 6/15/09 reported 6/15/09 *unspecified health conditions which lowered her immune response, came to the hospital with respiratory symptoms only, possibly incubating the virus, developed flu symptoms later
#4 Hartford County, unidentifed person in their 40's died 6/17/09 reported 6/18/09 *unspecified health problems
#5 Hartford County, unidentified 50-59 year old person reported 6/23/09 *unspecified underlying condition known to shorten life span, hospitalized 6/13 with fever and respiratory symptoms, died of respiratory failure
#6 New Haven County, unidentified person 40-49 years old reported 6/29/09 *unspecified underlying conditions, recently hospitalized

Florida: 2
#1 Miami-Dade County, 9 year old boy Luis Alexandro Munoz, died 6/9/09 reported 6/16/09 *suffered from asthma, family was unaware of asthma until it was announced after his death, hospitalized 6/8 within 24 hours of developing flu symptoms, and died the next day, died 4 days after he was last in school, H1N1 confirmed 1 week postmortem
#2 Central Florida, 30 year old woman died 6/23/09 reported 6/24/09 *unspecified respiratory condition, possibly also pregnant?, considered "high risk," hospitalized earlier in June

Illinois: 13
#1 Chicago 22 year old male, died 5/24/09 reported 5/25/09 *unspecified underlying condition
#2 Cook County, Chicago adult female, reported 5/27/09 *unspecified significant medical conditions
#3 Kane County 42 year old male, reported 5/28/09 *unspecified chronic conditions
#4 Chicago 20 year old woman, Caitlin Huber died 5/30/09 reported 6/2/09 *pregnant
#5 Lake County, Gurnee 74 year old male, died 6/2/09 reported 6/4/09 *unspecified significant medical conditions
#6 Chicago, 26 year old woman Edriana Ramirez, died 6/9/09 reported 6/17/09 *healthy, hospitalized 1 week
#7 Chicago, 52 year old man died 6/11/09 reported 6/17/09 *had other unspecified health problems, hospitalized 5/30/09
#8 Cook County, 8 year old suburban Chicago boy Mark Dampier Jr., resident of Oak Forest, died 6/13/09 reported 6/17/09 *no known health problems, became ill 6/11/09
#9 Cook County, Western Springs 29 year old woman reported 6/18/09 *other health problems
#10 Cook County, Mount Prospect 29 year old man reported 6/18/09 *other health problems
#11 La Salle County, 18 year old woman reported 6/19/09 *unspecified underlying conditions
#12 Chicago, 54 year old woman died 6/10/09 reported 6/26/09 *unspecified medical problems, hospitalized 6/2
#13 Chicago, 47 year old woman died 6/23/09 reported 6/26/09 *healthy, hospitalized 6/20


[edit on 29-6-2009 by sonjah1]

con'tConfirmed U.S. Deaths - Details updated 6/29/09
Maryland: 1
#1 Baltimore metro area, unidentified elderly woman reported 6/23/09 *unspecified serious underlying medical condition

Massachusetts: 2
#1 Boston 30 year old woman, died 6/14/09 reported 6/15/09 *no underlying conditions, became ill 6/5/09, hospitalized 6/10/09
#2 Boston, 84 year old man, died 6/18/09 reported 6/29/09 *hospitalized 6/12, confirmed H1N1 postmortem 6/29

Michigan: 7
#1 Warren/Macomb 53 year old woman, Reva Miller died 6/1/09 reported 6/3/09 *asthma, possibly infected at hospital
#2 Roscommon County 58 year old male, died 6/4/09 reported 6/11/09 *unspecified chronic conditions
#3 Madison Heights police officer Ryan Settlemoir, lived in Macomb County, airlifted to hospital with severe flu symptoms died Thursday 6/11/09 reported 6/12/09 *had asthma and hypertension, but family says overall was healthy, suffered multiple organ failure, Legionnaires’ disease ruled out, H1N1 confirmed as cause of death 6/18/09
#4 Detroit, 44-year-old man died 6/15/09 reported 6/18/09
#5 Macomb County, 63-year-old woman died 6/17/09 reported 6/18/09
#6 Detroit/Oakland County?, unidentified person reported 6/20/09 on Michigan DCH website
#7 Oakland County, unidentified person reported 6/20/09 on Michigan DCH website

Minnesota: 1
#1 Minneapolis 5 year old girl died week of 6/12/09, reported 6/15/09 *special-needs pre-K student, born with a genetic condition that left her medically fragile with a suppressed immune system, required a tracheotomy until age 4, flu caused respiratory distress, briefly hospitalized and died the next day

Missouri: 1
#1 St. Louis County 44 year old male, died 5/19/09 reported 5/19/09 *healthy

Nevada: 2
#1 Las Vegas, 71 year old New York woman died while visiting family in Las Vegas, reported 6/12/09 *unspecified underlying conditions.
#2 Clark County, 33 year old man died 6/28/09 reported 6/29/09 *no underlying conditions, hospitalized 6/15

New Jersey: 6
#1 Essex County, West Orange, 49 year old man Michael Reiser died 6/13/09 reported 6/15/09 *unspecified multiple underlying conditions, became ill 5/30/09, hospitalized with pneumonia 6/2/09, diagnosed H1N1 postmortem
#2 Somerset County, 15 year old boy, died 6/8/09 reported 6/17/09 *died at home after developing symptoms that included fever, vomiting, coughing and congestion, was last in school 6/5 with no symptoms, diagnosed H1N1 postmortem
#3 Sussex County, 10 year old boy died 6/18/09 reported 6/18/09 *unspecified underlying conditions, became ill 6/12, hospitalized 6/14 with cough and fever, last in school 6/11 with no symptoms, H1N1 confirmed 6/18
#4 Union County, 36 year old man died 6/3/09 reported 6/19/09 *underlying conditions, hospitalized 6/1/09 with cough and fever, H1N1 confirmed postmortem 6/19/09
#5 Hudson County, 79 year old woman died 6/19/09 reported 6/23/09 *underlying medical conditions, became ill 6/15, hospitalized same day with cough and fever, H1N1 confirmed postmortem 6/23
#6 Bergen County, unidentifed person reported 6/24/09 on NJ DOH website

New York: 42
#1 NYC, Queens 55 year old man, Mitchell Weiner died 5/17/09 reported 5/18/09 *gout, high blood pressure, family says he was healthy, suffered kidney failure
#2 NYC, Queens 55 year old woman, Danita Lee died 5/23/09 reported 5/24/09 *unspecified underlying conditions
#3 NYC, Brooklyn 34 year old male, died 5/22/09 reported 5/26/09 *unspecified underlying condition, not hospitalized
#4 NYC, Queens 41 year old female, died 5/22/09 reported 5/26/09 *unspecified underlying condition, not hospitalized
#5 NYC Bronx 11 week old child, Steven Montanez died 5/28/09 reported 6/1/09 *found unconscious at home
#6 Onondaga County adult, died 6/2/09 reported 6/3/09 *unspecified underlying condition
#7 NYC unidentified person early-mid 40's, reported 6/3/09
#8 NYC unidentified person early-mid 40's, reported 6/3/09
#9 NYC unidentified person over 65, reported 6/5/09 *unspecified underlying complications
#10 NYC unidentified person over 50, reported 6/8/09 *unspecified underlying condition
#11 Onondaga County, Syracuse unidentified adult, reported 6/9/09 *unspecified underlying condition
#12 NYC unidentified person over 65, reported 6/10/09
#13 NYC unidentified person in their 50's, reported 6/10/09
#14 NYC unidentified person in their 30's, reported 6/10/09
#15 NYC unidentified person in their 30's, reported 6/11/09
#16 NYC Brooklyn 11 year old girl, Sarah Michel reported 6/11/09 *heart defect
#17 NYC child under 2 years, reported 6/11/09 Could be Jonathan Zamora Castillo, 16 month old suspected death #11
#18 Westchester County, Yonkers 29 year old female, died 6/9/09 reported 6/11/09 *unspecified underlying condition
#19 NYC unidentified person in their 40's, reported 6/12/09
#20 Suffolk County, Brookhaven 35-45 year old man, died 6/10/09 reported 6/15/09 *unspecified serious, chronic medical condition, including pneumonia, hospitalized two weeks, unrelated to #21
#21 Suffolk County, Brookhaven 55-65 year old woman, died 6/9/09 reported 6/15/09 *underlying medical problems, ill on 6/6/09, treated by a doctor for respiratory infection, said she felt better, died same day, unrelated to #20
#22 Nassau County, woman in her 20's died 6/16/09 reported 6/16/09 *pregnant, hospitalized 6/5 with fever and respiratory symptoms, delivered a healthy baby by C-section 6/5, transferred to ICU 6/7, confirmed with H1N1 6/15
#23 NYC unidentified person between 25 and 64 years old, reported 6/16/09 *most of the 7 reported 6/16 were hospitalized late May
#24 NYC unidentified person between 25 and 64 years old, reported 6/16/09 *most of the 7 reported 6/16 were hospitalized late May
#25 NYC unidentified person between 25 and 64 years old, reported 6/16/09 *most of the 7 reported 6/16 were hospitalized late May
#26 NYC unidentified person between 25 and 64 years old, reported 6/16/09 *most of the 7 reported 6/16 were hospitalized late May
#27 NYC unidentified person between 25 and 64 years old, reported 6/16/09 *most of the 7 reported 6/16 were hospitalized late May
#28 NYC unidentified person between 25 and 64 years old, reported 6/16/09 *most of the 7 reported 6/16 were hospitalized late May
#29 NYC unidentified person between 25 and 64 years old, reported 6/16/09 *most of the 7 reported 6/16 were hospitalized late May
#30 NYC unidentified person between 26 and 64 years old, reported 6/19/09 *hospitalized in late May
#31 NYC unidentified person between 26 and 64 years old, reported 6/19/09 *hospitalized in late May
#32 NYC unidentified person between 26 and 64 years old, reported 6/19/09 *hospitalized in late May
#33 NYC unidentified person between 26 and 64 years old, reported 6/19/09 *hospitalized in late May
#34 NYC unidentified person between 26 and 64 years old, reported 6/19/09 *hospitalized in late May
#35 NYC unidentified person between 26 and 64 years old, reported 6/19/09 *hospitalized in late May
#36 NYC unidentified person between 26 and 64 years old, reported 6/19/09 *hospitalized in late May
#37 Erie County, Buffalo, 15 year old boy Matthew Davis died 6/20/09 reported 6/20/09 *healthy, complained of a headache 6/12, conditioned worsened over the weekend, hospitalized 6/15 given antibiotic and released, 6/16 vomiting/dizziness/leg condition, hospitalized again 6/17, toward the end placed on life support, died 6/20 from complications of swine flu including pneumonia and MRSA, kidneys failed
#38 NYC unidentified person 25-65 years old reported 6/23/09
#39 NYC unidentified person 25-65 years old reported 6/23/09
#40 Westchester County, Yonkers 26 year old woman died 6/23/09 reported 6/24/09 *hospitalized 6/14, medical examiner and death certificate both list "Swine flu" as cause of death, Westchester County Health Department needs more info to confirm or deny
#41 Erie County, Buffalo 9 year old girl Maya Harden died 6/27/09 reported 6/27/09 *healthy with no severe health issues, went to ER with flu symptoms 6/12, diagnosed with pneumonia and sent home, hospitalized again 6/14 for an overnight and sent home, hospitalized final time 6/16, contracted MRSA and pneumonia, critical condition for 2 weeks, on life support for 11 days before she died
#42 Suffolk County, Babylon, unidentified man 65-75 years old died 6/29/09 reported 6/29/09 *serious underlying medical condition, multiple medical problems, hospitalized since early June, confirmed H1N1 earlier in the month

North Carolina: 2
#1 Guilford County, Greensboro adult man died 6/19/09 reported 6/24/09 *had recently had a heart procedure at Moses Cone Hospital, was discharged in improving condition with no signs of influenza, several days later admitted to Wesley Long Hospital in critical condition with severe pneumonia, died hours later in ICU, tested positive for H1N1 postmortem
# 2 Guilford County, Greensboro, unidentified adult man died 6/26/09 reported 6/26/09 *pre-existing medical conditions, being treated in hospital for asthma complications before H1N1 diagnosis, infected a respiratory therapist who later exposed 33 infants at Woman's Hospital

Oklahoma: 1
#1 Kay County 43 year old male, reported 6/8/09 *underlying conditions including asthma, not hospitalized

Oregon: 3
#1 Marion County adult female, died 6/7/09 reported 6/8/09 *unspecified underlying conditions
#2 Marion County, child younger than 5 died 5/16/09 reported 6/23/09 *no underlying medical conditions, 2 days of fever, not hospitalized
#3 Multnomah County, unidentified adult 25-64 years old reported 6/26/09 by CDC

Pennsylvania: 4
#1 Berks County 55 year old female, reported 6/4/09 *asthma, diabetes
#2 Philadelphia 26 year old female, died 6/7/09 reported 6/8/09
#3 Pike County 48 year old woman died 6/14/09 reported 6/15/09 *unspecified underlying condition, hospitalized and died at Bon Secours Hospital in Port Jervis, NY
#4 Philadelphia, unidentified person reported 6/25/09

Rhode Island: 1
#1 Kent County, teenage girl died 6/14/09 reported 6/17/09 *unspecified underlying conditions, special needs student at Meeting Street School, showed no symptoms while in class, H1N1 confirmed postmortem 6/17

Texas: 16
#1 Brownsville 23 month old child, Miguel Tejada Vazquez died 4/27/09 reported 4/29/09 *neonatal myasthenia gravis, heart defect, problems swallowing, chronic hypoxia
#2 Cameron County 33 year old woman, Judy Trunnell died 5/5/09 reported 5/5/09 *pregnant, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis
#3 Corpus Christi 33 year old man, Carlos Garnica died 5/6/09 reported 5/15/09 *hypothyroidism, hypertension, enlarged heart, sleep apnea, morbid obesity, died of viral pneumonia
#4 El Paso 42 year old male, died 5/19/09 reported 5/29/09 *unspecified underlying conditions
#5 El Paso 24 year old woman, Jessica Avalos died 5/24/09 reported 5/29/09 *pregnant, sick for 2 months, died 3 days after C-section, rapid flu test was negative
#6 El Paso 43 year old male, died 6/4/09 reported 6/5/09
#7 Fort Bend County 12 year old female, died 5/26/09 reported 6/8/09 *unspecified severe underlying conditions
#8 Victoria County, Bloomington, 60 year old woman Maria Monroe, died 6/6/09 reported 6/10/09 *suffered from lupus for 20 years, then in the last 5 years the lupus went away, had diabetes, scheduled for a kidney transplant b/c of lupus damage, 5/26 developed a bad cough, kidney transplant postponed, 5/27-28 started a fever, 5/30 developed pneumonia, H1N1 confirmed 6/10 postmortem, first person in the area confirmed with H1N1
#9 Hidalgo County, 13 year old boy, died week of 6/12/09 reported 6/15/09 *no underlying conditions
#10 Hidalgo County, woman in her 30's, died week of 6/12/09 reported 6/15/09
#11 Northeast El Paso, 59 year old man reported 6/24/09 *unspecified underlying condition, hospitalized for flu-like illness
#12 Bexar County, unidentified woman died "in June" reported 6/24/09 TX DSHS
#13 Bexar County, unidentified woman died "in June" reported 6/24/09 TX DSHS
#14 Bexar County, unidentified man died in June reported 6/24/09
#15 El Paso County 82 year old man, reported 6/25/09 *hospitalized with influenza like illness, H1N1 confirmed
#16 Austin-Travis County, Pflugerville 49 year old man reported 6/29/09

Utah: 10
#1 Salt Lake County, 21 year old man, Marcos Antonio Sanchez died 5/20/09 reported 5/20/09 *overweight, respiratory condition, suffered multiple organ failure
#2 Salt Lake County, unidentified person between 5 and 18 years old, reported 6/4/09 *first reported healthy, then with unspecified significant underlying conditions
#3 Salt Lake County, 25-40 year old man, Doug Dunford died 6/12/09, reported 6/14/09 *hospitalized for treatment of a liver condition, came home feeling well, developed a bad cough and was "turning grey and gurgling", hospitalized, given oxygen, then antivirals and ventilator, died a week later
#4 Salt Lake County, 47 year old woman, Francine Rushton died 6/13/09, reported 6/14/09 *healthy, mother diagnosed with Type A flu 5/30 and given Tamiflu, Franice came down with symptoms, tested negative for H1N1 3 times, was refused Tamiflu, family says she went untreated 8 days, hospitalized 6/9 in critical condition with penumonia, tested postiive for Type A flu 6/10, and positive H1N1 on 6/11, died of kidney failure, lung damage, brain damage
#5 A Salt Lake County, 58-year-old woman died 6/15/09 reported 6/15/09 *unspecified underlying health conditions
#6 Salt Lake County, unidentified man 25-50 years old, died 6/12/09 or 6/13/09 reported 6/16/09 *H1N1 confirmed postmortem 6/16
#7 Salt Lake County, unidentified person reported 6/17/09
#8 Davis County, 30 year old man Jaman Davies died 6/13/09 reported 6/17/09 *morbidly obese, lungs filled with fluid, not hospitalized at time of death
#9 unidentified woman 18-39 years old reported 6/24/09 *unspecified underlying condition
#10 Davis County, unidentified boy 5-17 years old reported 6/24/09 *unspecified underlying condition


Virginia: 1
#1 Chesapeake 34 year old woman, April Wilson died 6/2/09 reported 6/2/09 *disabled, Comelia de Lange Syndrome, cerebral palsy, congestive heart failure

Washington: 3
#1 Snohomish County 39 year old male, died 5/6/09 reported 5/9/09 *heart condition, enlarged heart, obesity
#2 Pierce County female in her 20's, died 6/5/09 reported 6/5/09 *unspecified underlying condition
#3 King County, Seattle man in his 70's died 6/11/09 reported 6/15/09 *multiple unspecified underlying conditions, H1N1 confirmed postmortem

Wisconsin: 4
#1 Milwaukee 27 year old woman, Andrea Morgan, died 6/3/09 reported 6/4/09 *common underlying condition, sought treatment 5/31, sent home
#2 Milwaukee, 48 year old woman, Barbara Davis died 6/11/09 reported 6/12/09 *healthy, family blames delayed health care response, suffered multiple organ failure
#3 Milwaukee, 14-year-old Tiara Mosely-Forrest, reported 6/16/09 *had no other medical conditions which could have led to death, complete physical and blood tests in May reported her as healthy, complained of chest pains in late May, by 6/1 she could not walk on her own, on a ventilator 2 weeks, died from influenza, pneumonia in the lungs, a staph infection, multiple organ failure
#4 Marathon County, Wassau, 12 year old girl Emily Eaton, died 6/17/09 reported 6/17/09 *episodic immune deficiencies since birth, mild autism, hospitalized 6/11/09 with what appeared to be pneumonia, H1N1 rapid test was negative, father says she "deteriorated really fast, like someone turned a switch, went from singing songs to being non-responsive", airlifted 6/13 to St. Joseph's Hospital where she suffered severe respiratory symptoms and multiple cardiac arrests, father says the family had been extra cautious about not traveling, had not left the area and had restricted trips to "Walmart and the park", but that Emily was outgoing and had had a lot of close contact with many people in recent weeks

Be rgen County woman becomes N.J.'s sixth swine flu victim

A Bergen County woman has become the state’s sixth confirmed death as a result of swine flu, a state health official said Monday.

The woman was in her 40s and had underlying health conditions, said Dr. Susan Walsh, deputy commissioner for public health at the state Health Department.

She is the first person from Bergen County to die of the pandemic flu virus, officially known as novel H1N1 influenza. Her name, hometown and the nature of her underlying health issues were not disclosed by health officials.

The virus has been confirmed in 44 residents of Bergen County and 609 residents of New Jersey, as of last Wednesday. But that number is only a fraction of the statewide total, because only severe cases and possible new clusters of cases are tested for the virus.

Most cases are mild, with symptoms that include a fever and cough or sore throat, sometimes accompanied by vomiting and diarrhea.

“It’s impossible to say” how many people in New Jersey have been infected, said Tom Slater, a department spokesman. “What’s important to know is that it is widespread in the community.”
.