Announcement

**Shiloh** · October 1, 2009, 10:36 PM

Re: 5-year-old NM girl, female infant die of swine flu

Source: http://www.newswest9.com/Global/story.asp?S=11244555

5-year-old NM girl, female infant die of swine flu

Associated Press - October 1, 2009 11:15 PM ET

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) - The New Mexico Department of Health announced Thursday night that a female infant from Roosevelt County and a 5-year-old girl from Sandoval County have died from swine flu.

Health officials say neither child had a chronic medical condition.

The names of the victims were not released.

The Albuquerque Journal reported that the 5-year-old girl attended Rio Rancho Elementary School.

Rio Rancho School District officials said they planned to send a letter to parents notifying them about the girl's death.

So far this year, health officials say there have been seven deaths related to the swine flu in New Mexico.

They say the previous five deaths were a 45-year-old female from Sierra County with end stage liver disease, a 52-year-old female from Bernalillo County with chronic pulmonary disease, a 48-year-old female from McKinley County with asthma and diabetes, a 21-year-old female from Los Alamos County without chronic medical conditions, and a 58-year-old male from Bernalillo County with chronic conditions that put him at risk for serious complications from the flu.

**Shiloh** · October 2, 2009, 08:30 PM

Re: 5-year-old NM girl, female infant die of swine flu

Source: http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S....shtml?cat=520

Girl who died of H1N1 remembered

Posted at: 10/02/2009 5:28 PM | Updated at: 10/02/2009 6:57 PM
By: Eric Kahnert, Eyewitness News 4; Charlie Pabst, KOB.com

The mother of a 5-year-old Rio Rancho girl who died of the H1N1 virus this week says her daughter showed no symptoms until the day she died from it.

Danielle Olivares, mother of 5-year-old Trinity Olivares, took her to the hospital on Monday because she was vomiting. A few hours later, the girl's heart stopped beating.

Trinity's family found out on Thursday that she tested positive for H1N1.

Family and friends made their way into St. Thomas Aquinas Church on Friday where a rosary was held for the girl.

Before the somber services, the girl's mother said, "She was an energy ball?a very soft-spoken little girl."

Danielle Olivares says that Trinity started to feel sick on Monday.

"The only symptom I can say she had was just vomiting," Danielle said.

Looking pale, Trinity's family rushed her to the hospital.

Her mother said, "She was looking really dehydrated, so we decided to take her in, took her to the hospital. They put her on IVs right away and started giving her fluids. At that point, we thought she was going to be okay."

A few hours later, Trinity's condition worsened.

Danielle said, "Just all of a sudden, her heart just stopped all of a sudden. It was very fast."

The kindergartener at Rio Rancho Elementary School passed away on Monday.

On Thursday, Rio Rancho Public Schools alerted parents.

Trinity's father is a custodian and mail carrier for the district.

The girl also leaves behind two brothers.

"It's vary scary. It's scary, because you don't think it's going to happen to your own? you don't think it's going to happen to your family, your kids," Danielle said Friday.

Olivares says her daughter was a healthy child and just learned to write her first and last name, and was trying to tackle her address.

"The last things she said is 'I want water,' and her legs hurt, I rubbed her legs as much as I could," Danielle said.

We asked the Rio Rancho School District if they saw an increase in the number of students absent today, but our calls were not returned with that information.

The spokesperson said that the district has taken precautions to protect students from getting sick.

**Chuck** · October 3, 2009, 08:27 AM

Re: 5-year-old NM girl, female infant die of swine flu

404 - dchieftan

http://www.dchieftain.com/dc/index.php/news/309-Five-year-old,-infant-die-of-swine-flu.html

Five-year-old, infant die of swine flu
Written by Olivier Uyttebrouck
Saturday, 03 October 2009 13:00
Olivier Uyttebrouck

The H1N1 flu virus claimed the lives of two New Mexico girls this week, including a 5-year-old Rio Rancho Elementary School student and an infant from Roosevelt County, the state Department of Health announced Thursday.

Neither child had chronic medical conditions that would have put them at heightened risk of complications from the illness, health officials said.

Trinity "Trin" Olivares, of Rio Rancho, died Monday evening (sept. 28), just a day after complaining of nausea, said the girl's mother, Danelle Olivares, 31.

Trinity began feeling ill Sunday night and stayed home from school Monday as her nausea and vomiting became more severe, Olivares said. The girl's parents took her to a hospital Monday afternoon, about three hours before her death.

Doctors said the girl was severely dehydrated and put her on intravenous fluids.

"She had no fever, no cough, no runny nose, no symptoms of the flu" other than nausea, Olivares said. The girl also enjoyed good health prior to Sunday night, her mother said.

"She was a very healthy little girl. She never got sick," Olivares said.

Trinity also was keenly aware of discussion and news reports about swine flu and constantly washed her hands and even urged her mother to buy hand sanitizer, Olivares said.

Trinity recently started school at Rio Rancho Elementary after attending Shining Stars Preschool. Her father, Michael Olivares, supervises mail delivery at Rio Rancho Public Schools.

Funeral services were be held Friday, Oct. 2, St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Rio Rancho.

The Rio Rancho Public Schools district notified parents by a telephone notification system Thursday evening.

Kim Vesely, district spokeswoman, said the district also planned to send a letter to parents today notifying them about Trinity's death.

Vesely said the New Mexico Department of Health informed the district that the child died of H1N1 flu, also known as swine flu, after the department ran a preliminary test.

Chris Minnick, spokesman for the Department of Health, said the Roosevelt County infant died this week, but he did not know what day.

The two deaths bring to seven the number of New Mexicans who have died of swine flu, and 85 have been hospitalized as of Thursday.

A 21-year-old Los Alamos County woman who had no chronic medical conditions is among those who have died. Others include a Sierra County woman, 45; a Bernalillo County woman, 52; a Bernalillo County man, 58; and a McKinley County woman, 48. All four had chronic medical conditions, health officials said.

Dr. Alfredo Vigil, the state's health secretary, called the girl's death tragic and said it highlights the dangers of all types of influenza.

"Even during the normal flu season, people unfortunately develop deadly complications," Vigil said. The death of children from flu is not unusual "given the number of cases," he said.

"It's very hard when it has to do with the death of a child," he said. "When it's a child, it's incredibly tragic."

Vigil said the first doses of swine flu vaccine are expected to arrive soon in New Mexico. About a third of the state's supply of the vaccine is expected to arrive in October; the remainder is expected within the next three months, he said.

"We're expecting vaccine soon, and hopefully in the next week or two, so we can get to work on this," Vigil said. "We haven't been notified about the day of delivery."

In a letter to parents dated Thursday, Rio Rancho Elementary Principal Barbara Bruce described Trinity as "a wonderful, bright child from a wonderful young family. We are heartbroken at their loss and express our condolences to the family."

Reports of flu in public schools have surfaced in the metro area. Almost 100 children were kept home from Moriarty Elementary School last Friday after a warning letter was sent to parents when a few students had a flulike illness. Only about 20 of the students who stayed home reported symptoms.

Also last week, Albuquerque schools saw clusters of flulike illnesses appearing earlier in the season than usual. Sandia High School reported that about 12 percent of its students were absent. The school reported fewer absences this week, a district official said.

"While the death of this child is a tragedy for our schools and community, deaths from the flu are not unexpected in this year or in any year," Bruce said in her letter to parents. "In an average year, 36,000 people worldwide die from complications related to flu.

"Most, but not all, of the people who succumb to this disease have underlying health issues that contribute to its severity. In this respect, the H1N1 flu behaves very much like the regular flu."

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5-year-old NM girl, female infant die of swine flu

5-year-old NM girl, female infant die of swine flu

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