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| Two More Deaths Due to H1N1 | | 11/25/2009 10:45:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Two more deaths have been reported due to H1N1 influenza in Maine, bringing the total to seven since August, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the Department of Health and Human Services.
"It is with great sadness that we have learned of a Penobscot County resident over age 65 and a Washington County resident between the age of 25 and 65 who have died this past weekend. Both had severe underlying conditions," said Dr. Dora Anne Mills, director of the Maine CDC, on Monday, November 23. "While most people with H1N1 in Maine and the nation have had a relatively mild infection, this news demonstrates how severe influenza can be, especially in those with underlying conditions, pregnant women, and children."
In August, a York County man in his 50s was the first Maine resident to be reported to die of the pandemic strain of H1N1. Over the past three weeks, H1N1 has become widespread in Maine and four other adults have died from H1N1. All people who have died thus far in Maine have had underlying conditions, some very serious ones. The previous four deaths include: a young adult from Penobscot County; two adults between the age of 25 and 50, one from Penobscot County and one from Hancock County; and one adult over 65 years of age from Kennebec County. More than 150 schools have experienced outbreaks and several dozen people have been hospitalized.
In a normal flu season in Maine, an estimated 150 people die, about a dozen outbreaks occur in long-term care facilities, and usually fewer than a half dozen schools report high absentee rates.
"People should assume they will be exposed to the H1N1 influenza at some point, and with very limited vaccine supplies in Maine right now, we should all take precautions to prevent serious illness," said Mills. These precautions include:
• When vaccine is available, consider getting H1N1 flu vaccine if you are in a high-priority group. Those in these groups include: pregnant women, anyone 6 months to 25 years of age, caregivers and household contacts of young infants younger than 6 months old, anyone 25 to 65 with underlying medical conditions, and health care workers. Eventually there should be sufficient vaccine for anyone who desires it.
• Contact your health care provider if there are flu-like symptoms in a household in which anyone is younger than 2 years old, 65 years or older, pregnant, and/or has an underlying medical condition. There are prescription medicines (antivirals such as Tamiflu) that may help reduce the severity and duration of the illness.
• Although most people can stay home without seeing a health care provider, anyone with the flu should seek medical attention for: dehydration; trouble breathing; getting better, then suddenly getting a lot worse; any major change in one's condition.
• Stay home if you are sick, until you are fever-free for a full 24 hours without taking fever-reducing medicine.
• Cough and sneeze into your elbow, or into a tissue. Throw the tissue away.
• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water, but especially after coughing and sneezing. Alcohol-based hand gels can also be used.
• Avoid touching your nose, mouth and eyes. Germs can be spread by touching contaminated surfaces and then touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
• Avoid contact with sick people. If you are at very high risk for complication, you may want to avoid large crowds.
"We know that any type of influenza can cause serious illness, so it is important that we all redouble our prevention efforts to limit the spread of this illness and to prepare for continued expansion of H1N1," said Mills.
For more information, visit www.maineflu.gov.
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