Seven Year Old Dies From A/H1N1 in Whitfield County

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.wrcbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11233215

Seven Year Old Dies From Swine Flu in Whitfield County
Posted: Sep 30, 2009 2:20 PM EST Updated: Sep 30, 2009 2:20 PM EST

WHITFIELD COUNTY (WRCB) -- Health officials in Whitfield County, Georgia confirm that a seven-year-old girl died Wednesday morning from illnesses related to swine flu.

Jennifer Moorer, spokeswoman for the North Georgia Health District, said this is the first swine flu death for Whitfield County. Moorer said the girl was hospitalized at the time of her death. Moorer would not release the name of the hospital or the girl.

[Shiloh]

Re: Seven Year Old Dies From A/H1N1 in Whitfield County

Source: http://www.newschannel9.com/news/div...al-moorer.html

North Georgia Child Dies From Swine Flu

September 30, 2009 4:15 PM
Newsroom

A 7-year-old girl from Whitfield County died this morning in a local hospital from the H1N1 virus according to Jennifer Moorer with the North Georgia Health District.

"We are very sad for family," Moorer said. "The child did not have underlying medical condition that we know of."
Moorer stresses that deaths from H1N1 alone is rare, adding most who have H1N1 recover and are fine.
She also advises people not to flock to doctors offices at the first sign of symptoms. "Call your doctor first before exposing others to what you have."

She urges parents not to panic but if a child is sick to stay home until they have spent 24 hours without symptoms.
The Health District is working with the Dalton Public School system and how to handle the effects on students both physcially and emotionally with the death.
Moorer adds the seasonal flu shot will help build up immunity towards the H1N1 virus.

[FloridaMom]

Re: Seven Year Old Dies From A/H1N1 in Whitfield County

Moorer adds the seasonal flu shot will help build up immunity towards the H1N1 virus.

[Shiloh]

Re: Seven Year Old Dies From A/H1N1 in Whitfield County

Source: http://www.ajc.com/news/dalton-secon...es-151690.html

Dalton second-grader dies from swine flu

By Mike Morris

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A Dalton elementary school student has died from illness related to swine flu.

The Dalton Daily Citizen reported Thursday that Candy Chen, 7, died early Wednesday morning.

The girl was in the second grade at City Park Elementary School in the northwest Georgia town.

School principal Rick Little sent a letter home to parents on Wednesday, telling them that Candy had died after a brief hospitalization.

"Although we are not at liberty to release a student's medical information, please know that we have been in contact with this student's family and medical officials and have not been advised to make any changes in our student health and safety protocols," Little said in the letter.

"This afternoon, Candy's teacher, the school counselor and I shared this news with her classmates," he said.

Jennifer Moorer, a spokeswoman for the North Georgia Health District, told the newspaper that this was the first swine flu, or H1N1 virus, death in Whitfield County. She said the child had no underlying medical conditions.

[Chuck]

Re: Seven Year Old Dies From A/H1N1 in Whitfield County

http://www.daltondailycitizen.com/local/local_story_274201219.html

School plans activities to remember student
Rachel Brown

Maribel Hernandez said her daughter and niece cried Wednesday after learning a girl in their second-grade class at City Park School died that morning.

Hernandez?s daughter, Ashly Ayala, had to stay out of school because of the flu.

?It?s so close ? in my child?s classroom,? Hernandez said. ?You think about it, it could have been your child. It?s really sad.?

City Park School will have activities of some sort to remember student Candy Chen, but the date and details haven?t been decided, officials said Thursday. Candy, a second-grader, had attended the school since kindergarten.

Principal Rick Little said school officials couldn?t comment on the child?s medical information. North Georgia Health District spokeswoman Jennifer Moorer said a 7-year-old girl from Whitfield County died from swine flu, or H1N1, Wednesday.

Little said Candy has a sibling who also attended the school.

Three additional counselors were at City Park Thursday after students were informed of Candy?s death late Wednesday afternoon, and the counselors will be available again Friday, officials said.

?We have had both staff and students take advantage of that,? said school system spokeswoman Deana Farmer. ?For those who need it, they are self-selecting and being offered counseling services as needed. We do have students who knew Candy and are going through the grieving process, and we are trying to help with that.?

Little said there were many news organizations at the school, but Thursday was otherwise fairly normal. He said he hadn?t spoken with the family on Thursday, and he said the school received only a few calls from parents who had inquiries.

?Everybody here is still very focused on the family and thoughts about them and helping them get through this,? he said. ?We?re trying to keep the school as normal as possible because we?re dealing with a lot of other children, too.?

Farmer said about 10 percent of students were absent at City Park on Thursday, the same number absent as on Wednesday. The school has 735 students.

Of the 6,990 students district-wide, about 6 percent were absent on Monday, she said, but that number had increased to about 7 percent by Thursday.

Many of the absences are attributed to flu symptoms. Officials with Dalton Public Schools, Whitfield County Schools and Murray County Schools have all reported students out with flu symptoms. As of September, more than 99 percent of flu viruses circulating in the United States were H1N1, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Hernandez said her daughter was diagnosed with seasonal flu. She said her daughter received medication and her fever is gone, but she will stay home for a few days to recover.

She said she appreciates the way the school handled the situation, informing parents of Candy?s death in a letter sent home with students the same day.

Moorer said those who believe they have the flu should call a doctor for advice rather than rushing out for a doctor visit or to the emergency room. For most people, a doctor visit isn?t necessary unless they sustain a fever of 102 degrees or greater for more than 24 hours, she said.

[Chuck]

Re: Seven Year Old Dies From A/H1N1 in Whitfield County

http://www.11alive.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=135878&catid=3

Dalton H1N1 Victim Called A Model Student

DALTON, GA - Those who knew the bright second grader at Dalton's City Park Elementary School describe 7-year-old Candy Chen as the kind of student every teacher and ever student loves.

"She was the type of child that would reach out to everybody," Principal Rick Little told 11 Alive News, "If somebody needed a friend in the classroom, she would be that friend."

Wednesday afternoon, principal Little had the somber task of sending home a letter to parents of Candy Chen's fellow students telling them she had died earlier in the day.

The girl's family didn't want to talk to the news media Thursday, but local health officials confirmed the child was hospitalized about a week ago and passed away Wednesday morning.

She is now the 14th confirmed death in Georgia from the H1N1 flu and the first in North Georgia's Whitfield County.

What makes her case unusual is that, as far as anyone knows, Candy Chen did not have the type of underlying health problems that usually prove fatal for H1N1 victims.

"It's a very rare occurrence for that to happen," says Jennifer Moorer of the North Georgia Health District, "and that's something that parents and everyone need to know. This is a very rare situation."

Moorer urges parents not to panic and begin rushing their children to doctors' offices and hospitals.

We found some parents concerned, but not overly frightened as they picked up their children from City Park Elementary Thursday afternoon.

"Yes, I'm worried," Michael Starks told us, "for my granddaughter. Well, she could be exposed to it, you know."

"I believe in God," Angel Ordaz told us as he picked up his nephew from school, "I know God's going to protect him and all these kids."

"They're fine," said Alicia Patton, whose daughter was one of Candy Chen's classmates.

"Everybody's been sick," Patton added, "My aunt's grandson, he's got the swine flu fight now. So, it's not anything you can predict."

Dalton Public School officials urge parents to keep children home if they show flu symptoms.

They also see no need to increase the cleaning and prevention measures already being used in classrooms.

"There's been no recommendation to us that we change any of the protocols that were in place since the beginning of the year," says the school system's Craig Harper.

Both Dalton City and Whitfield County school systems say they're seeing about a 6% absentee rate, which is only slightly higher than this time last year.