First Oregon death from swine flu reported in Marion County


by Paige Parker, The Oregonian
Monday June 08, 2009, 3:39 PM

A Marion County woman with a confirmed case of swine flu died Sunday, the first Oregonian and 28th American to die of the infection, public health officials said Monday.

Officials are not releasing the woman's name.

She'd been hospitalized for eight days before her death, and suffered "multiple underlying health conditions," notable because it placed her at high risk of infection and complications, according to the state's press release.

The death does not change the recommended precautions for limiting swine flu's spread because nothing indicates this strain is more deadly than garden-variety flu. The public is still advised to wash their hands frequently; to cough or sneeze into an elbow or tissue rather than a hand and to stay home if sick.

So far, public health officials have detected 168 cases of swine flu in 13 Oregon counties, a number that is falling as the flu season wanes and as fewer samples are tested. Every year, 1 in 10 Oregonians gets a strain of the flu, and influenza kills about 400 Oregonians annually.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/06/first_oregon_death_from_swine.html