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Friday, 05 February 2010 |
By KAREN CAMPBELL
Assistant Managing Editor
An Auglaize County resident has died from H1N1, the county’s health commissioner confirmed Thursday.
Health Commissioner Charlotte Parsons said the 59-year-old Wapakoneta woman died a week ago and tests conducted by the hospital where she was a patient were positive for H1N1.
According to obituary records at the Wapakoneta Daily News, the only woman matching that description was Melody Dietrick, who died Jan. 29 at Lima Memorial Health Systems.
Parsons said they learned about the positive test through a state disease report.
She declined to comment about whether any underlying health conditions may have contributed to the woman’s susceptibility to the deadly virus.
“I haven’t read her medical records and that’s protected personal health information,” Parsons told the Wapakoneta Daily News. “The important thing is that people understand that H1N1 has not gone away.”
Parsons said they still aren’t seeing as many people as they would like at free H1N1 vaccination clinics held at a variety of locations throughout the county during recent months.
“We would like to get as many kids as possible vaccinated and we are seeing more of the older population coming out,” Parsons said of clinics which are being held at each of the county’s district schools throughout January and February.
At a clinic in St. Marys on Tuesday, more than 150 people attended, but Parsons said she is still hoping for even more of a public turnout.
A clinic is scheduled for 3:30 to 6 p.m. Tuesday at Wapakoneta High School, and is open to anyone.
While anyone can now receive the vaccine for free, Parsons said it is still important for youth, pregnant women and those with chronic health conditions, who were part of the high risk priority group when the vaccine was first administered, to be sure to get it.
“The reason they were in the tier one priority group is because they were most vulnerable,” Parsons said. “They are the most likely to get sick.
“Getting the vaccine is the best way to prevent getting H1N1,” she said. “We encourage people to take the opportunity to get the vaccine, offered at no cost, and we will find a way to make it convenient.”
She also encouraged county residents to take care of themselves, eat right and exercise.
Anyone with an influenza like illness, including a cough, fever, body aches, severe upper respiratory illness, or even vomiting, which may all be signs of H1N1, to contact a physician immediately.
“We don’t want to panic people with having a death,” Parsons said. “We’ve known for months that this illness can cause death.
“It’s still around,” she said. “It hasn’t gone away. People think because there’s not large numbers of people missing school or work, that it’s no longer here, but it is.”
She said unfortunately H1N1, like other viruses, is unpredictable.
“We just don’t know what’s going to happen,” Parsons said.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 08 February 2010 )
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