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Source: http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/swi...niak-year.html
21-year-old with swine flu dies
Chase Ray's death is first fatal case here
August 06, 2009 7:00 PM
Andrew Gant
Daily News
DeFUNIAK SPRINGS ? A 21-year-old man died Thursday as a result of swine flu, the first such death of an Okaloosa, Santa Rosa or Walton County resident during this year?s outbreak.
Chase Ray died at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, where he?d been hospitalized for more than a week with the H1N1 virus.
Reached at the family?s home, Ray?s mother Michele confirmed his death. But officials at Sacred Heart and with the Walton County Health Department were not releasing any information Thursday.
?With HIPAA regulations and incomplete information, we are unable to confirm or deny since the Walton County Health Department has not itself received a confirmation, which would need to cite a specific cause of death,? Health Department spokeswoman Shirley Chaney said in an e-mail.
Chaney said officials at Sacred Heart hadn?t ruled on a cause Thursday evening.
But on Wednesday, the Health Department did confirm two recent H1N1 cases in Walton County.
The first was detected July 15 in a 17-year-old who apparently was exposed to the virus while traveling out-of-state.
The second case, presumably Ray?s, was confirmed last week. He was believed to have contracted the virus in Orlando.
?It?s devastating and we?re so sorry for the family,? said Sonny Mares, executive director of the Walton County Tourist Development Council, where Michele Ray works. ?I?m grieving for them.?
Mares also confirmed the H1N1 information.
Ray?s funeral was set for 3 p.m. Saturday at New Beginnings Church in Freeport. Visitation is at 2 p.m.
His family and friends remembered him as a hunter and fisherman who also loved running his dogs and shrimping.
The death came a week after Hurlburt Field?s 1st Special Operations Medical Group confirmed four cases in airmen and said 59 others might be infected.
For many of those, the strain will become no worse than a common flu, healthy officials say.
About 44,000 cases of swine flu in the United States have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since mid-April. While only about 5,000 people have been hospitalized, some 302 have died.
In late July, the CDC quit counting cases.
Of all the U.S. cases, half have been among young people between the ages of 5 and 24, in contrast to other flu strains that affect large numbers of elderly persons.
21-year-old with swine flu dies
Chase Ray's death is first fatal case here
August 06, 2009 7:00 PM
Andrew Gant
Daily News
DeFUNIAK SPRINGS ? A 21-year-old man died Thursday as a result of swine flu, the first such death of an Okaloosa, Santa Rosa or Walton County resident during this year?s outbreak.
Chase Ray died at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, where he?d been hospitalized for more than a week with the H1N1 virus.
Reached at the family?s home, Ray?s mother Michele confirmed his death. But officials at Sacred Heart and with the Walton County Health Department were not releasing any information Thursday.
?With HIPAA regulations and incomplete information, we are unable to confirm or deny since the Walton County Health Department has not itself received a confirmation, which would need to cite a specific cause of death,? Health Department spokeswoman Shirley Chaney said in an e-mail.
Chaney said officials at Sacred Heart hadn?t ruled on a cause Thursday evening.
But on Wednesday, the Health Department did confirm two recent H1N1 cases in Walton County.
The first was detected July 15 in a 17-year-old who apparently was exposed to the virus while traveling out-of-state.
The second case, presumably Ray?s, was confirmed last week. He was believed to have contracted the virus in Orlando.
?It?s devastating and we?re so sorry for the family,? said Sonny Mares, executive director of the Walton County Tourist Development Council, where Michele Ray works. ?I?m grieving for them.?
Mares also confirmed the H1N1 information.
Ray?s funeral was set for 3 p.m. Saturday at New Beginnings Church in Freeport. Visitation is at 2 p.m.
His family and friends remembered him as a hunter and fisherman who also loved running his dogs and shrimping.
The death came a week after Hurlburt Field?s 1st Special Operations Medical Group confirmed four cases in airmen and said 59 others might be infected.
For many of those, the strain will become no worse than a common flu, healthy officials say.
About 44,000 cases of swine flu in the United States have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since mid-April. While only about 5,000 people have been hospitalized, some 302 have died.
In late July, the CDC quit counting cases.
Of all the U.S. cases, half have been among young people between the ages of 5 and 24, in contrast to other flu strains that affect large numbers of elderly persons.
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