County records first flu death

Mary Manning and Ed Koch

Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2003 | 10:48 a.m.

For more information, or to schedule an appointment to receive a flu vaccination, call 383-1351, 383-1352 or 383-1494.

But health officials today were urging people not to panic but rather to be careful and practice good hygiene.

A Clark County man died of the flu within the past few days, Clark County Health District spokeswoman Jennifer Sizemore said Monday. The man was over 50 years old and had a medical condition that made it more likely to have complications from the flu, she said.

No other information on the man was available.

Federal law prohibits the health district from providing any information that could help identify the man, including exact age and residency, except that the person lived in Clark County, Sizemore said.

The health district is investigating whether the man had received a flu shot, Sizemore said.

Two residents of a Northern Nevada nursing home who died along with four other people who died within a single day are being tested for influenza, state epidemiologist Randy Todd said.

Nevada, along with 35 other states, has reported widespread outbreaks of influenza since Oct. 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Friday.

In addition to the one death, the Clark County Health District has reported 120 confirmed cases of the flu this season.

People most at risk from flu include elderly people over 65 years and those with chronic illnesses.

"Mortality has always been an issue with the flu, but for otherwise healthy people they should not panic but rather be careful," said Dr. Robert Schreck, a family practitioner and past president of the Nevada State Medical Association. That includes hand-washing, being careful of coughing and getting a flu shot, he said.

Schreck, who runs a small private practice and makes round to area nursing homes, said he inoculated his high-risk patients unless they refused a shot. Those who get the flu may be able to lessen the symptoms with a pill called Tamiflu, he said.

"So far, I've seen a lot of viral infections and similar illnesses, about 10 percent of which was the flu. The rest were respiratory illnesses and intestinal viruses," Schreck said, noting that the treatment for all of those illnesses is plenty of bed rest, drink fluids and let it run its course.

The flu has hit early and hard from an apparent new strain of influenza known as A/Fujian.

People such as the Southern Nevada resident and the nursing home patients typically die of a related disease, such as pneumonia or another bacteria or virus, Todd said.

The coroner's office in Carson City called state health officials after six people died within 24 hours in a nursing home, Todd said.

Two of the six died from causes other than a respiratory infection, he said. Two others could not be tested for disease and the two remaining people were infected by Group A streptococcus, a strain of strep that typically causes sore throats or skin infections.

However, the number of deaths "is somewhat unusual," Todd said, prompting CDC to send two investigators to Carson City.

"Flu contributing to those deaths continues to be under active investigation," Todd said.

Flu season typically lasts from October until March or April.

"It started early, so maybe it will stop early," Todd said.

Flu deaths in the elderly are not the only concern this year.

Nevada is volunteering to report the deaths of children under the age of 18 this winter, Todd said, although there have been no confirmed cases of youngsters dying from flu-related diseases so far in the state this year.

The flu kills an average of 92 children each year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. More than 42 children have died in the current outbreak, federal health officials said Friday.

The flu has killed at least 11 children and one adult in Colorado this season. Last year only two flu deaths of children were reported in that state, none the previous year and two were reported in the 2000-2001 season.

Schreck said he has in recent weeks had a high number of inquiries from healthy patients, including young people, about what they can do to avoid the flu.

He said he hopes that has resulted in more people getting the flu shot because percentages of Southern Nevadans who have received the vaccine in the past have been low. Schreck said he has run out of his allotment of flu shots.

The health district has a limited amount of flu vaccine available today, by appointment and only for at-risk individuals, Sizemore said.

Typically Nevada records about 350 people who die from flu-related illnesses each year. In 2001, the last year records are available, 350 residents died of such illnesses, Todd said.

Because the holiday season is busy, with people typically going to parties or celebrating New Year's in large groups, Schreck said there is concern that the flu season can be inadvertently lengthened.

"It is very difficult to get people to alter their lifestyle, so again we have to be careful," he said. "Because of so many people coming in and out of Las Vegas from different parts of the country, we often see a prolonged flu season here.

"Also because we live in a resort industry, where many employees depend on tips -- and because this is getting to be a busy time of year -- there are pressures on people who have been sick to get back to work as soon as possible. If they go back while they are sick, they could make others sick."