DANVILLE — Geisinger Medical Center on Friday reported its first swine flu death. The unidentified 24-year-old patient is believed to be the first to die from the virus in the Valley.
Hospital spokeswoman Marcy Marshall on Friday said that because of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act guidelines, the medical center could not provide additional information.
“The Geisinger family sends our thoughts and prayers to the patient’s family,” Marshall said in a statement.
“This death underscores the potential severity of the H1N1 swine-origin virus, and we recognize that this latest development does hit close to home,” Marshall said.
“As we continue to see increasing cases of H1N1 influenza, we encourage the public to contact their primary care providers and student health centers for more information on where to get vaccinated,” Marshall said. “Vaccine production has been slow, but we do eventually expect that there will be enough for everyone. There are limited supplies, and health providers are awaiting additional doses from the Department of Health, which is judiciously allotting available supplies. “
Dr. Lisa Esolen, director of infection control at Geisinger, said the medical center has received only a small fraction of the vaccines needed for patient and employee protection. She added that there are approximately 7,600 confirmed cases of swine flu in Pennsylvania, with a 4 percent rate of hospitalization.
The state Department of Health’s Web site shows 22 deaths from the virus. Pennsylvania is among the 48 states now reporting widespread infection.
Stacey Kriedeman, state Department of Health spokeswoman, was unable to provide additional information on the Geisinger patient because of confidentiality.
The death was not listed on the department’s Web site, but Kriedeman said the death statistics are not posted until lab samples are confirmed. The time span can vary.
“It depends on where the sample is coming from,” Kriedeman said. “We get reports from different entities. It could be a lab, hospital, coroner. It’s difficult to say how long it could take.”
The death would then be added to the toll in the patient’s home county.
At the Danville facility and the Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, about 1,300 patients were seen and treated in October for the swine flu. About 3 to 4 percent required hospitalization.
As of Friday morning, the state Department of Health showed 17 confirmed swine flu cases in Union County, 14 confirmed cases in Northumberland County, nine confirmed and two probable cases in Snyder County and six confirmed cases in Montour County.
Public vaccination sites have not yet opened. These point of distribution centers are expected to open later this month.
Geisinger’s Esolen suggested individuals receive the vaccination even if they have already had the virus. There are problems with assuming an individual doesn’t need the vaccine, she said. They might have a weak immune system and not develop full immunity; an individual may have been infected with a different influenza virus that the test could not distinguish from novel H1N1 flu; or the test may have been incorrect and presented a “false positive” result.
-- E-mail comments to gmorton@dailyitem.com
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