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H1N1 Suspected In West Virginia Teen's Death

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Oct 26, 2009 7:49 pm US/Eastern

H1N1 Suspected In West Virginia Teen's Death

Autopsy Scheduled To Determine If H1N1 Was Cause Of Death

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (KDKA) ― A 17-year-old Morgantown High School student who was hospitalized with H1N1 flu has died.

Misty Cricks passed away Sunday at Ruby Memorial Hospital.

"Anytime you lose a student, there's no doubt about it – it makes it difficult for us to be able to kind of deal with it from a day-to-day basis," Dr. Frank Devono, Superintendent of Monongalia County Schools, said.

Cricks came down with flu-like symptoms two weeks ago. When her condition got worse, she went to the hospital where it was later confirmed that she had the H1N1 virus.

Cricks' mother notified the school where absenteeism was climbing. It's normally one to two percent.

"We do have an attendance rate up there. It's probably about 14-15 percent," Devono said. "We've been taking some great concern, trying to make sure our buildings are clean and try to do all that we can to prevent any additional spread of the H1N1."

Cricks was on a ventilator. When she was off the ventilator, she seemed to be doing better, but she had a relapse over the weekend and died.

The victim's mother said her daughter had a pre-existing condition which made her more vulnerable to the H1N1 virus.

It's not known what role the virus played in Cricks' death. The results of her autopsy have not yet been released.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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