Arkansas reports first swine flu death

By Sheilah Downey (sheilahd@foodconsumer.org)

The first death in Arkansas from complications related to the H1N1 virus was reported by the Arkansas Department of Health on Monday.

State Epidemiologist Dr. James Phillips said the Health Department would not release any further details about the case, including the county of residence, for medical confidentiality reasons.

"We have H1N1 influenza A all over our state," he said in a news release. "We knew that we might possibly see deaths from this disease."

Latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control for week ending August 1, said 11 states, including Arkansas, reported regional influenza activity.

As of Aug. 4, the World Health Organization reported 162,380 laboratory-confirmed cases of the swine flu virus, and 1,154 deaths globally.

"The laboratory-confirmed cases represent an under-estimation of total cases in the world," said the WHO website, "as many countries have shifted to strategies of clinical confirmation and prioritization of laboratory testing for only persons with severe illness and/or high risk conditions."

The WHO also stated that the H1N1 strain is the dominant influenza virus in circulation in the United States, England, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Argentina and Brazil.

"South Africa has had a notable increase in the proportion of influenza that is novel influenza A (H1N1), and now it represents the majority of influenza in the country." according to the WHO website.