TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Polk County man dies of swine flu

ADVERTISEMENT

By BETH GADDIS | TBO.com

Published: July 17, 2009

A 31-year-old man died of H1N1 swine flu Thursday evening, the Polk County Health Department confirms.

Polk County has had 72 confirmed cases. Health officials do not believe the cases are related.

"At this point, in terms of a public health concern because of a cluster, which means cases that are related to each other, we have not seen any of that yet," said Dr. Celeste Philip, acting medical director.

This is the second confirmed death in the Tampa Bay area in 24 hours. On Thursday, Sarasota County health officials said a 22-year-old, otherwise-healthy man died from the disease. Doctors are awaiting test results on a 47-year-old man who died at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in the past few days.

Florida has 2,188 confirmed swine flu cases, and health officials say the number will rise.

Doctors urge people to wash their hands thoroughly, stay home from work, school or daycare if they feel sick, and to cover their mouths with a tissue or sleeve if they are coughing.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT