H1N1 virus claims 6th victim in Stanislaus County

Flu strain appears widespread in area

By Ken Carlson
kcarlson@modbee.com

E-Mail

reprint or license

Comments (0)

Text Size:

tool goes here

Stanislaus County health officials Monday confirmed a sixth death from complications of H1N1 influenza, a 69-year-old man who died in a local hospital Aug. 23.

It was one of three H1N1-related deaths over a four-day period last month. Five of the county's six deaths from the new strain of influenza occurred in August.

The Stanislaus County Health Services Agency did not release the man's name or where he lived, citing patient confidentiality.

The county agency did not receive a report from the hospital until well after the fatality, an official said. The virus, also known as swine flu, becomes reportable to public health officials if a patient is hospitalized.

Phoebe Leung, assistant director of health services for the county, said the agency is not aware of any H1N1-related deaths since two women died Aug. 26.

Still, officials believe the contagious illness is widespread in Stanislaus County, and hospitals report that many patients are ill with flulike symptoms.

"We want people to take precautions and take every step to prevent getting or spreading the virus," Leung said.

Turlock hospital nearly full

John Sigsbury, chief executive officer of Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock, said the hospital is filled nearly to capacity, with many of the patients potential H1N1 victims.

Sigsbury said there's been an upswing in visits to the emergency room. Although increased awareness of H1N1 flu has brought in a few patients with typical flulike symptoms, for the most part, he said, "these people are really sick."

Doctors are seeing patients with symptoms such as vomiting or difficulty breathing. And those struck with H1N1 generally are younger than the target population of the seasonal flu.

As many as 20 percent of patients going to Memorial Medical Center's emergency department have flulike symptoms, a physician at the Modesto hospital said Monday. Only hospitalized patients are tested for swine flu.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that treatment with antiviral drugs in the ER be reserved for people in high-risk categories, such as patients older than 65, younger than 5, pregnant women or those with chronic illnesses.

As of last week, Stanislaus County's hospitalization rate for H1N1 was 8.55 patients per 100,000 residents, or seventh highest among the 44 counties in California affected by swine flu. Statewide, more than 1,800 hospitalizations and 152 deaths have been attributed to the influenza strain.

Bee staff writer Patty Guerra contributed to this report. Bee staff writer Ken Carlson can be reached at kcarlson@modbee.com or 578-2321.