First Swine Flu-Associated Death Reported in Northern Kentucky

The death of a Kenton County woman in her mid-fifties has been reported as related to swine flu (H1N1), the Northern Kentucky Health Department reported today. It is the first death in the Northern Kentucky region associated with H1N1.
 
“The loss of any one of our residents is always a tragedy, and our thoughts go out to the individual’s family,” said Steven R. Katkowsky, M.D., District Director of Health. “Influenza is a serious illness that can lead to serious complications and even death, as it did in this case.”

Nationwide, between August 30 – October 24, 2009, over 2,900 pneumonia and influenza syndrome-based deaths have been reported to the CDC due to the swine flu. In Kentucky, 15 deaths have been reported, including the local one.
     
For more information on swine flu in Northern Kentucky, please visit http://www.nkyhealth.org  or call the Health Department’s swine flu information line at 859-392-0678.