May 18, 2009
An assistant principal of a New York City school has died of swine flu, the sixth confirmed death in the U.S. Officials at Flushing Hospital Medical Center said Mitchell Wiener died Sunday night of complications from the flu.
Wiener had been sick with the virus for about a week before his school, the Susan B. Anthony Middle School in Queens, and two others in New York were closed for at least five days because of an outbreak of the H1N1 flu. Five more New York City schools will close today because of concern for swine flu, bringing the total to 11.
An Arizona woman who lived near Phoenix died last Thursday, the fourth U.S. death. Officials there said she had previously suffered from a lung ailment.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has lifted its travel health warning for Mexico. The CDC says the flu situation has approved in Mexico and its warning has been downgraded to a travel precaution. The CDC said there is evidence that the Mexican outbreak is slowing down in many cities though not all.
In addition, the CDC noted that the United States and other countries are now seeing increasing numbers of cases not associated with travel to Mexico. Finally, it said the risk of severe disease from novel H1N1 virus infection now appears to be less than originally thought, at least for the present.
As of Friday afternoon, at least 4,928 cases have been confirmed in 47 states. Worldwide, 34 countries have officially reported 7,520 cases.
Mexico has reported 2,446 laboratory confirmed human cases of infection, including 60 deaths. Canada has reported 449 laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death.
Symptoms of H1N1 (SO) include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting as well.
The best way to prevent additional cases of flu in school is to ensure that people wash their hands frequently and cover their mouths when coughing and sneezing. For those who are ill, the recommendation is to stay home until they are symptom-free for at least 24 hours.
