Email Print   Text Size
Latest Death Shows Swine Flu Is Killing Healthy Adults

A Lincoln County man in his 30's who died from the H1N1 virus had no underlying medical conditions that contributed to his death according to state health officials.  It would be the first death of the 12 so far in Nebraska where health officials say no other underlying medical condition contributed to the death.

However, two men who died recently in Douglas and Sarpy Counties were not in a high-risk group either according to their families.  The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said they were but would not provide details. 

All agree both men were overweight, and sources tell 'Action 3 News' that is the health condition to which officials were referring.  However, being overweight or obese is not a criteria to get the H1N1 vaccine as of now because it is not a condition in the 'high-risk' category.  Health officials cannot say when people not in those categories will be able to get vaccinated.

"Another death weighs heavily in our hearts," said Dr. Joann Schaefer, Chief Medical Officer for DHHS in a news release. "Our surveillance is showing a drop in flu activity, but for this time of year it's still very high. We need to remain vigilant because flu can be very unpredictable."

Check out the link in the upper left hand corner to the DHHS website for more information on how.

Carol Wang

Craig Nigrelli

Live at Midday

Weather Blog

All content © Copyright 2000 - 2010 WorldNow and Journal Broadcast Group. All Rights Reserved.
For more information on this site, please read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

Omaha