Nov 16, 2009 6:46 pm US/Eastern
Four Confirmed H1N1 Deaths In Allegheny County
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
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An infant, between two to four months old, died over the weekend at Children's Hospital.
KDKA
Two more local patients have died from H1N1.
An infant, between two to four months old, died over the weekend at Children's Hospital.
The baby apparently got sick from family members.
"The family were ill themselves – the parents – at the time the children were delivered probably with an H1N1 flu-like illness at least and this is one of a twin – the twin is doing quite well," Dr. Bruce Dixon, director of the Allegheny County Health Department, said.
At UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, there are 12 cases of H1N1. Nine of the patients are in the intensive care unit. Several of them are on life support.
"They're there because it's a safer place to care for somebody," Dixon said. "But more importantly, they're there because they have a serious life-threatening situation and that seems to be the case for most of the people in the ICU."
The nurses caring for the patients in intensive care have not been vaccinated.
"Intensive care nurses tend to be young people and they should be concerned because they can acquire that infection," Dixon said. "And not only are themselves going to be eventually ill, but they have the potential to spread it to their other patients."
UPMC says in a statement they have received a significant portion of the vaccine requested from the Department of Health and will receive it sometime this week.
So far, there have been four confirmed deaths in Allegheny County. Two others are presumed dead from H1N1.
Four people who have died were not from Allegheny County, including the infant this weekend.
The health department is holding f
our H1N1 vaccine clinics on Saturday, Nov. 21. Both the nasal spray and injectable forms of the vaccine will be available.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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