KDHE Reports First Death of Kansan Infected With Swine Flu

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KDHE Reports First Death of Kansan Infected With Swine Flu


The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is reporting the first death of a Kansan infected with the H1N1 (Swine Flu) Virus.

Few details are available, but KDHE says the victim was a middle-aged Sedgwick County resident.

KDHE says the individual died from a chronic medical condition, but was also infected with the H1N1 virus. The illness was confirmed as H1N1 flu at the state public health laboratory on July 30th.

Kansas State Health Officer Dr. Jason Eberhart-Phillips expressed his condolences to the family in a press release Thursday afternoon.

"We know this new virus is able to cause severe disease and death in a subset of patients, but this first death in our state brings this fact home in a new way," Dr. Eberhart-Phillips said. "It's a reminder to all of us in public health that we are dealing with a potentially fatal infection.

"http://www.kwch.com/Global/story.asp?S=10861003

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Kansas reports first death of swine flu patient

Eds: UPDATES with additional background on swine flu outbreak, victim's case, quotes from state and county health officials; ADDS byline, On the Net section.

By JOHN HANNA

Associated Press Writer

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- Health officials on Thursday reported Kansas' first death of a person with swine flu, saying the Wichita-area resident already suffered from a chronic medical condition made worse by the virus.

Officials didn't identify the victim and provided few details to protect the person's privacy. They said only that the victim was from Sedgwick County, was middle-aged and died earlier this week.

Health officials also were careful to say that the victim didn't die from swine flu, only that it may have been a contributing factor in the death. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said the victim's case of swine flu was confirmed July 30.

"The individual had a chronic condition," said Jennifer McCausland, spokeswoman for the Sedgwick County Health Department. "It made them weaker, but H1N1 was not the primary cause of death."

Swine flu cases have been reported in 41 of the state's 105 counties since the first two were in Dickinson County in April.

The disease can be dangerous for people who have heart and respiratory problems and other chronic conditions, KDHE spokeswoman Maggie Thompson said.

"What we're seeing is relatively mild in most people, but it can be very severe in others," Thompson said.

KDHE officials also said there's no indication the virus itself is becoming more virulent.

The state is moving away from keeping an exact count of individual swine flu cases, and KDHE's last reported figure of 247 confirmed cases is likely to be low.

KDHE officials reported Thursday that 23 people with confirmed cases had been hospitalized in the state.

However, in Johnson County alone, home to Kansas City area suburbs, the Health Department reported 33 hospitalizations. Nancy Tausz, its director of disease containment, said not all reports of H1N1 cases go to KDHE. She said Johnson County itself has had between 250 and 300 total cases.

Tausz also said it's not surprising the state has seen the death of someone who contracted the new flu virus while suffering from a chronic medical condition.

"Any underlying conditions can have all kinds of complications," she said. "With regular flu, pneumonia is a huge complication."

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H1N1 might have been factor in death
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BY KAREN SHIDELER
The Wichita Eagle

A Sedgwick County woman who died this week from a chronic medical condition was infected with H1N1, health officials said Thursday.

It's the state's first death associated with H1N1, the so-called swine flu.

Nationwide, more than 350 people have died from H1N1 and more than 5,500 have been hospitalized.

Sedgwick County Health Department spokeswoman Jennifer McCausland said H1N1 may have been a contributing factor in the local woman's death but wasn't its cause.

She said the Health Department is working with the family and close contacts of the woman.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment confirmed July 30 that the woman was infected with the H1N1 virus.

The state and local health departments said the woman was middle-aged but they didn't provide additional details about her or her underlying illness.

The death is similar to what's being seen in other parts of the country, said KDHE spokeswoman Maggie Thompson, in that people who have underlying medical conditions are most at risk for severe illness or death from H1N1.

The symptoms of H1N1 are similar to those of seasonal influenza: fever of more than 100 degrees, body aches, coughing, sore throat and respiratory congestion. Some people have diarrhea or vomiting.

Kansas has reported almost 250 cases of H1N1 influenza, including 30 in Sedgwick County.

"We know this new virus is able to cause severe disease and death in a subset of patients, but this first death in our state brings this fact home in a new way," said Jason Eberhart-Phillips, the state's health officer.

McCausland said the death and the continued reports of illness are reminders that when a vaccine becomes available, "it's going to be real important for folks to take it."

An H1N1 vaccine is in production and could be available this fall, federal officials have said; seasonal influenza vaccine usually is available beginning in September.

Reach Karen Shideler at 316-268-6674 or kshideler@wichitaeagle.com.