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Local dies from H1N1
Woman is third swine-flu related death in area
Herald Staff ReportTaking precautions
San Juan Basin Health Department said to help limit the spread of H1N1:
•Wash your hands often.
•Cover your cough and sneeze with a tissue or into the crook of your elbow.
•Stay home when ill until 24 hours after fever is gone.
For vaccination updates and H1N1 resources, visit www.sjbhd.org or call the La Plata County InfoLine at 385-4636, ext. 2270. San Juan Basin Health’s FluLine is 247-5702, ext. 1520. People who want to speak to a live operator can call the Colorado Health Info Line at (877) 462-2911.
For more information
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment flu page: www.cdphe.state.co.us/dc/influenza
Flu vaccine clinic locater: http://
immunizecolorado.com/findAFlu
Clinic.asp.
Mellyni Lee, 25, died Monday at her home on West Second Avenue, said La Plata County Coroner Dr. Carol Huser. On Thursday, the San Juan Basin Health Department received confirmation from the state lab that Lee had H1N1. The local health department did not disclose the woman's underlying condition, and Huser said toxicology reports are pending.
"We are deeply saddened by this death, and our hearts go out to her family," said Bari Wagner, communicable disease nurse for San Juan Basin Health. "Any death related to H1N1 flu is tragic, but particularly heartbreaking is a death of a young person." At least 35 people in Colorado have died from flu this year, and at least 15 were in the 25-to-49 age group, according to the state health department. Between 700 and 800 people in the state die each year from flu, but this is the third death in Southwest Colorado associated with H1N1.
The other two deaths were Montezuma County residents; both had underlying health conditions. On Oct. 23, Timothy Mark Philo, 51, died from swine flu complications at Mercy Regional Medical Center in Durango.
The third victim was a 29-year-old man who died Oct. 25 at St. Mary's Medical Center in Grand Junction.
Almost 2,000 people locally who are considered high-risk have been vaccinated, according to a written statement from San Juan Basin Health.
In-school vaccinations will be given Thursday in Ignacio and Bayfield, and the next week in Durango School District 9-R elementary schools.
The department plans to have enough vaccine available for anyone who wishes to receive it by mid-December.
Wagner said the health department strongly advises individuals with the flu who are at high risk for developing complications to contact their health-care provider.
"They can get a prescription for antiviral drugs (Tamiflu), which will hopefully help to lessen the severity and duration of the illness so these individuals don't develop the complications," Wagner said.
The state reported Wednesday that about 1,550 people have been hospitalized with the flu this season, and about 900 of those have been confirmed as swine flu, or H1N1, but health officials have said that's the only strain of influenza they have seen so far this year.
Each year in the United States, between 5 to 20 percent of the population gets the flu on average, and more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu-related complications. About 36,000 people die from flu-related causes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Herald staff writers Tom Sluis, Shane Benjamin and the Cortez Journal contributed to this report.
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