Sunday, May 17, 2009

First Swine Flu Death In NYC Reported

Assistant Principal Mitch Weiner passed away from complications relating to swine flu. He's the first person to pass away from swine flu in New York City.
"We were treating him very aggressively," said Flushing Hospital spokesman Ole Pedersen. "Unfortunately, he did expire at 6:17 p.m. this evening."

The sick man, Mitchell Wiener, 55, an assistant principal at IS 238 in Jamaica Estates, first fell ill more than a week ago, but didn't seek help at the hospital until his symptoms became severe early Wednesday morning.

Since that time, he's been in a medically induced coma, on a ventilator.
My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. My brother in law's school was among the six shuttered by the Board of Education last week in the wake of hundreds of students coming down with flu like symptoms so I know how this situation can hit home.

Mr. Weiner didn't seek care immediately, although there's no way to know whether earlier treatment would have mattered. Still, it's a good idea to see a health professional if you come across the symptoms that may be influenza.

there are other ailments that can have similar symptoms, including the cold. Here's a checklist of symptoms or quiz the symptoms to see whether it fits a classic influenza or the common cold.

Some parents and teachers are complaining that at least one of the schools should have been closed earlier - at IS 238, where Weiner worked. Now, the City is closing additional schools because of suspected flu cases, so as to limit the spread of the disease.

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