By John Lyon
Arkansas News Bureau
LITTLE ROCK — Four more deaths from complications related to H1N1 influenza, or swine flu, have occurred in Arkansas, bringing the total number of deaths in the state to five, the state Health Department announced today.
The first death in Arkansas related to the current swine flu outbreak was reported Aug. 10.
The department did not release any details about the four latest victims, citing medical confidentiality.
The Lakeside School District in Hot Springs notified parents Thursday that a female Lakeside first-grader had died. The notice included a statement from the girl’s father, Dan Davis, confirming she was diagnosed with swine flu, and a Hot Springs funeral home posted an obituary for Kharra Skye Davis, 6-year-old daughter of Dan and Becky Davis of Hot Springs, on its Web site.
“We have H1N1 influenza A all over our state, and we knew that we would see deaths from this disease,” said Dr. James Phillips, chief of the department’s infectious disease branch. “Our sympathies are with the family and friends. These additional deaths reinforce the importance of the precautionary measures that all Arkansans should take to prevent getting the disease.”
Nationwide, 593 people have died and just over 9,000 have been hospitalized with swine flu, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Supplies of the H1N1 vaccine should arrive in the state in mid- to late-October and should help slow the spread of the virus, Phillips said.
People who will be given priority in receiving the vaccine include pregnant women, health care workers and emergency responders, children and young adults from 6 months to 24 years, people caring for infants under 6 months and people 25 to 64 years old with underlying medical conditions.
These groups are estimated to total 159 million people nationwide.
Vaccines have not proven effective in every case. The CDC reported Thursday that two adolescent girls who were cabin-mates at a North Carolina summer camp have developed a strain of swine flu that is resistant to the antiviral drug Tamiflu. Nine such cases have been reported in the U.S.
The Health Department recommends the following precautions to avoid catching the flu:
—Wash your hands frequently with warm, soapy water.
—When hand washing is not possible, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
—Cover your mouth and nose with tissue when coughing and sneezing, then wash your hands.
—Stay home if you are sick. You should stay home until you are feeling better and after fever is gone for 24 hours without taking fever reducers. Limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
—Avoid close contact with people who are coughing or otherwise appear ill.
—Get a seasonal flu shot each year, and when the H1N1 influenza A vaccine is available in Arkansas, get a shot.
Symptoms of seasonal and H1N1 flu are the same and can lead to life-threatening complications such as pneumonia. The Health Department says anyone who experiences the symptoms should contact a physician or other health care provider.
The symptoms include a fever greater than 100 degrees, headaches and body aches, coughing, sore throat, chills, fatigue, respiratory congestion and, in some cases, diarrhea and vomiting.
