Tucker man 1st W.Va. swine flu- related death in 2010
by CASSIE SHANER The Dominion Post
2 years ago | 1078 views | 0 0 comments | 4 4 recommendations | email to a friend | print
MORGANTOWN (AP) - A Tucker County man hospitalized with a confirmed case of H1N1, or swine flu, died Tuesday morning at Ruby Memorial Hospital.

WVU Hospitals spokeswoman Amy Johns said the 44-year-old man had an underlying medical condition, but she could not provide any additional information.

Johns said he was transferred to Ruby from another facility. She was not sure when he arrived.

“When he got here, apparently the disease was well advanced,” Johns said.

According to the state Department of Health and Human Resources, a total of 20 flu-related deaths were reported in West Virginia through Dec. 29, and 892 people have been hospitalized.

Seven people have died at Ruby, including a 10-year-old girl from Upshur County and a 78-year-old man from Maryland who died last month.

Three women -- from Gilmer, Brooke and Upshur counties -- died at Ruby in November, and Morgan-town High School student Misty Cricks, who also suffered from cerebral palsy, died there in late October.

Three people were being treated at Ruby Memorial Hospital on Tuesday for flu-like symptoms, Johns said.

One adult had a confirmed case of H1N1, or swine flu, and two patients -- one adult and one child -- were waiting on test results.

Preston Memorial Hos-pital spokeswoman Adrienne Titus said total of 10 people had been treated at the hospital for flu-like symptoms since Jan. 3.

Denise Knoebel, administrator for the Preston County Health Department, said eight cases of flu-like illness were reported countywide through Thursday last week, though some offices were closed for New Year’s Eve.

Knoebel said she contacted 17 medical offices for updated numbers. She was unable to reach four of them.

An appointment-only H1N1 vaccination clinic will be from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. today at the Preston County Health Department. But Knoebel said the weather could have an impact on the clinic if county offices close early.

“If county offices are closed, we would be closed,” Knoebel said.

Starting Friday, the health department will offer H1N1 vaccination appointments from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Wednesdays and 8:30-11:30 a.m. Fridays.

Knoebel said H1N1 vaccinations will also become one of the walk-in services the health department offers each Monday.
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