Fayette reports second flu death

Posted: 12:00am on Oct 13, 2009; Modified: 5:23pm on Nov 3, 2009

  • Hot line help

    The Kentucky Department for Public Health recently launched a toll-free flu hot line that Kentuckians may call with questions about H1N1 or seasonal flu.

    The number is 1-877-843-7727; the service operates 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily and is staffed by nurses.

  • School closing extended

    The Associated Press reported Monday that Bell County school officials told WYMT-TV in Hazard the system is stretching its scheduled fall break, closing schools two days early, to try to limit transmission of flu among its students.

    Schools will be closed Tuesday through Friday; they were scheduled to be closed Thursday and Friday. Students will return Monday.

    School system financial officer Steve Silcox said there seem to be a variety of symptoms reported in the schools.

A second Fayette County resident has died of the H1N1 virus, bringing the total number of deaths in Kentucky to five.

The death last week of a woman in her 60s was confirmed as an H1N1 case Monday by the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department. Although senior citizens are not considered to be at high risk for complications from H1N1, the woman had other serious, chronic medical conditions that contributed to her death, health department spokesman Kevin Hall said.

Kentucky will be receiving some 10,000 doses of vaccine for the H1N1 virus soon, but progress was halted Monday because of Columbus Day, a federal holiday.

When the vaccine is made available, the first doses will be given to health care workers, said Gwenda Bond, spokeswoman for the state Department for Public Health. Next, a priority group, including pregnant women and children, will be vaccinated. Mass vaccination clinics are being planned through health departments across the state, and individual school districts might offer vaccinations to students during the school day, she said.

Last month, a Fayette County woman in her 50s and a 41-year-old woman in Jefferson County died of the illness. A 13-year-old Caldwell County girl who died Sept. 23 had H1N1, although the exact cause of her death is under investigation. Hers is the first death of a child in Kentucky that has been connected to swine flu. The death of a Christian County woman in her late 20s also has been tied to H1N1, although the woman apparently had other underlying health problems.

Order a reprint

View All Top Jobs

$1,995,000 Lexington
5 bed, 5 full bath, 1 half bath. Highly Motivated Seller...

Search New Cars
Ads by Yahoo!