A boy in Boulder County is the latest person in Colorado to die from the H1N1 swine flu this month, according to the Boulder Department of Health.
The boy, whose name, age and hometown were not released, died on Sept. 15.
A spokesperson for the Boulder Health Department says he was being treated at The Children’s Hospital in Aurora and was between 10 and 17 years old.
A report in the Daily Camera says the state health department confirmed that a Denver resident, who was about 50, died on Monday from the H1N1 virus.
Summit County health officials are also investigating if a 13-year-old boy in Breckenridge also died from the H1N1 flu. Summit County Coroner Joanne Richardson says Bryan Pineda tested positive for Type A influenza last week. Most of those recent cases are thought to be swine flu, which is a strain of influenza A.
Boulder County says at least seven people there are in the hospital because of the flu and four have H1N1. As for the other three, two had type A flu and one had an H3 sub type.
The people hospitalized are four men and three women, ranging in age from two weeks to 91 years old.
They live in Longmont, Lafayette and Boulder.
According to a report in the Daily Camera, both the boy who died in Boulder County and the Denver patient had other health conditions that could have contributed to their deaths.
In July, a 41-year-old El Paso County woman died from the H1N1 flu.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment says more than 170 people were hospitalized because of flu-related illnesses from Sept. 5 to Sept. 19.
If you are symptomatic but not at high-risk, experts say you should stay home until your fever goes down for 24 hours without taking fever-reducing medicine.
If you are hospitalized for the flu, experts recommend antiviral medications like Tamiflu. Those medications are said to be most effective if started within 48 hours of the onset of the illness.
High-risk individuals who should see a health care provided include the flowing:
-Infants and young children
-Pregnant women
-People 65 years of age and older
-People of any age with lung disease (including asthma), heart disease, weakened immune systems from cancer, HIV or immunosuppressive medications
-People with kidney disease, diabetes or neurological and neuromuscular diseases
-People younger than 19 years with diseases requiring long-term aspirin therapy
-Individuals with other chronic diseases
If a child experiences the following symptoms a health care provider should be seen:
-Difficulty breathing or fast breathing
-Bluish or gray skin color
-Fever lasting more than three days
-Dehydration (no urination in 12 hours)
-Severe or persistent vomiting
-Not waking up or not interacting
-Very irritable and not wanting to be held
-Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
If an adult experiences the following symptoms a health care provider should be seen:
-Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
-Pain or pressure in the chest
-Confusion or increasing lethargy (sluggishness)
-Severe or persistent vomiting
-Persistent fever and cough
To avoid the flu in the first place, aside from getting a season flu and H1N1 vaccination, the following tips should be followed:
-Frequently washing hands
-Coughing and sneezing into the crook of your arm, rather than uncovered or in your hand;
-Avoiding people with respiratory illness
-Staying home from work or school when sick, returning only after fever has subsided for 24 hours without the use of a fever-reducing medication.
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