Middle-Aged Eastern Iowan is First H1N1 Death in State
By
Becky Ogann
Story Created:
Aug 4, 2009 at 3:53 PM CST
Story Updated:
Aug 4, 2009 at 5:57 PM CST
DES MOINES - Officials at the Iowa Department of Public Health have announced Iowa’s first H1N1-flu death. On Tuesday, officials released new details, saying the person who died of H1N1-flu was a middle-aged person from eastern Iowa. Officials say that although the H1N1-related fatality occurred in eastern Iowa, it is not an indication the virus is more severe or prevalent in that region.
Iowa Department of Public Health Director Tom Newton said it is important that Iowans continue to take simple precautions to help prevent getting or spreading the virus. Those precautions included washing hands frequently and always washing hands after coughing or sneezing, and coughing or sneezing into a tissue, sleeve or elbow, not into your hands. Health officials advise that if a person feels ill, he or she should stay home. Also, children should not go to day care or summer camp if they feel ill.
The virus first surfaced in Iowa last spring, prompting a statewide health declaration. That declaration has expired and state officials have confirmed 208 cases of H1N1 influenza. However, health officials no longer are classifying H1N1 as a reportable disease since a public health disaster declaration expired on May 31. H1N1 now is being treated in the same way as seasonal flu in Iowa, according to the public health agency.
Most cases of H1N1 flu in Iowa have been mild but state health department spokeswoman Polly Carver-Kimm says the state’s first death is a reminder that the illness has the potential to be serious.
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