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Swine flu deaths near 30 in Virginia
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NIH
Nov. 22--The Virginia Department of Health announced on Friday that 29 Commonwealth residents had died from swine flu and complications of the disease since last spring.
Each death has been confirmed through serology, which allows physicians and health officials to accurately identify which virus caused a patient's illness.
Virginia is among the states that encourages hospitals and other health care facility to positively identify and report cases of H1N1 influenza infection. While documented cases of swine flu have declined over the past two weeks, fatalities from the disease have increased rapidly since the beginning of October.
In speaking with state health officials, the Virginian-Pilot learned that six Hampton Roads and Western Tidewater residents have died after contracting swine flu. Three of those deaths occurred in Norfolk and Virginia Beach.
The surest way to protect oneself against swine flu and other strains of the influenza virus is to get vaccinated, health experts agree. Drugs to treat flu once it has developed have limited effectiveness, and instances of cases in which patients with swine flu do not respond at all to antiviral medications are increasing. The largest number of medication-resistant H1N1 infections has occurred in North Carolina.
To find flu vaccines in Tidewater, throughout Virginia and across the United States, click here.
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