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Four more victims added to US flu death toll

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-06-16 15:57

HOUSTON -- The states of Washington and Connecticut on Monday reported four more deaths caused by the A(H1N1) flu virus.

The Washington state department of health on Monday said a man in his 70s died of A(H1N1) flu in King County, bringing the death toll to three in the state.

"This death is a tragic development, and our hearts go out to the family," said Dr. David Fleming, director and health officer for public health, Seattle & King County.

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"A(H1N1) flu can have very serious consequences, and we continue to closely monitor the disease," he added.

The Seattle-King County Health Department said on Monday the man died on Thursday and had "multiple underlying health conditions."

The other two deaths involved a Snohomish County man in his 30s died in May and a Tacoma woman in her 20s died earlier this month. Both had underlying health conditions.

The Washington state on Friday reported 584 confirmed cases of A(H1N1) flu, most in King County where 524 cases has been confirmed.

Meanwhile, Waterbury Hospital in Connecticut announced on Monday that a woman in her early 40s had become the third A(H1N1) flu fatality in the northern US state.

The hospital said the woman had been admitted to the hospital with respiratory problems and later tested positive for the A(H1N1) virus.

The woman did have a few other health conditions that could have contributed to lowering her body's ability to fight off the A(H1N1) flu, said Dr. Steve Aronin, adding she died Monday morning.

The previous two deaths included a six-year-old boy from New Haven County who died of A(H1N1) virus with underlying medical conditions, and a resident over the age of 50 who became the first person in the state to die from A(H1N1) flu two weeks ago. Last Friday, the Connecticut state department of health confirmed a total of 637 cases of A(H1N1) flu in the state.

Nationwide, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday reported 45 deaths of A(H1N1) flu, but local health officials believe the real number could be much higher.