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9-year-old Miami-Dade boy first Florida death from H1N1
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H1N1 - Swine Flu Virus
(Miami – June 16) A Miami-Dade County 9-year-old boy has died from the H1N1 flu. The child's case was one of the 143 confirmed cases of swine flu in Miami-Dade County as of June 16, 2009 and the first reported death.
Tuesday at a news conference, Miami-Dade Director of Disease Control Dr. Fermin Leguen said the boy had a history of asthma and had been rushed to the hospital suffering from a respiratory illness.
According to a statement released by Baptist Hospital:
"A nine-year-old boy came to Baptist Children's Hospital ER in cardiopulmonary arrest last Tuesday, June 9. The child had a history of asthma. He was admitted to the pediatric ICU and he died the same day. Test results from the Florida Department of Health laboratory confirmed that the child had H1N1 swine flu."
Over a week’s span health officials tested tissue samples and confirmed that he died of the H1N1 virus.
The boy died about four days after the last time he attended school, but his name nor the name of his school were released.
"While most cases of H1N1 swine flu are mild, there are exceptions like this tragic case. Nationally, the CDC is reporting 45 deaths associated with Swine Flu, and as the flu progresses that number will unfortunately raise. All of us should continue to be alert and stay home if sick, cover your cough and sneeze, and wash hands frequently," said Surgeon General Dr. Ana Viamonte Ros.
The World Health Organization held an emergency swine flu meeting last Thursday and declared the first flu pandemic in 41 years as infections climbed in the United States, Europe, Australia, South America and elsewhere.
The agency declared the swine flu pandemic a global epidemic. The declaration of a pandemic does, however, push drug makers to fast-track production of a swine flu vaccine. Swine flu first emerged in Mexico and the United States in April and has spread to countries across the world. In a majority of cases they are mild and require little to no treatment.
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