Richmond man’s death attributed to swine flu

RICHMOND, Va. -- A Richmond man's death is the latest in Virginia from swine flu, bringing total deaths in the state from the illness to 27.

"It indicates that the H1N1 flu is still an issue," said Dr. Donald Stern, Richmond City Health District director.

"That we have had a death, it does not indicate the virus is changing. It's still primarily a mild to moderate form of disease. Some individuals, particularly those with underlying health conditions, are at risk. That is why we encourage them to get their vaccine," Stern said.

For patient-privacy reasons, Stern would not provide details on the man, who did have an underlying health condition.

Of the 27 Virginia victims, all but one, a girl, had underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk for severe flu complications. Eighteen females and nine males have died in Virginia.

The man's death is the second such death confirmed by the Virginia Department of Health for the city health district. The first was an adult woman, also with underlying health conditions, who died Oct. 19.

Annually, flu-related illness causes an estimated 36,000 deaths in the United States. Virginia's share of that would be about 900 deaths. However, tallying the true death toll of influenza is difficult. Virginia's 2008 death data, for instance, show 54 deaths for influenza, but that would only capture cases in which flu was indicated on the death certificate. The data also showed 1,259 pneumonia deaths.

Across the state, flulike illness is widespread. However, flulike illness has dropped to about 5 percent of emergency department and urgent-care-center visits, down from a high of about 14 percent statewide a few weeks ago.

Health officials say almost all the flu in the community is H1N1.

"We have many people across the state who are still critically ill and in hospitals," said Virginia's health commissioner, Dr. Karen Remley, while briefing reporters yesterday. She said some hospitals have had a sharp surge in patients in recent weeks but that has calmed down.

Remley said face masks, respirators and the antiviral Tamiflu from emergency stockpiles have been distributed to health-care providers, and more than 1.2 million doses of H1N1 vaccine have been ordered by Virginia and sent out. Much of that vaccine has been used to vaccinate children, a priority group.

"We are getting vaccine out to colleges," Remley said. "We still don't have as much [vaccine] as we would like. We are working to make sure it gets to the right place."

Stern said Richmond will complete elementary school H1N1 vaccine clinics this week and will start middle and high school clinics next week. He urged parents to make sure permission slips are returned.

Remley said people also can search for flu-shot locations on the state Health Department Web site, but she advised them to call first because places may quickly use up what they get.

Ukrop's Super Markets Inc. had posted on its Web site yesterday that it didn't expect to get H1N1 vaccine until after Thanksgiving. It had, however, received a shipment of seasonal-flu vaccine and scheduled a seasonal-flu vaccine clinic for Monday at the Ukrop's Colonial Square store in Colonial Heights.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offered tips on keeping illness from spreading during the holidays, particularly for people traveling.

• Don't travel if you are sick.

• Get vaccinated for seasonal flu and H1N1 flu if you are in a priority group.

• Wash your hands often.

• Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or sleeve.
Contact Tammie Smith at (804) 649-6572 or .