Vermont Officials Say Fatal Flu Cases 'Not Rare'

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Vermont Officials Say Fatal Flu Cases 'Not Rare'
Associated Press;

[03/10/2002]

 

The flu-related deaths of several nursing home residents in Burlington, Vt., sparked state health commissioner Dr. Jan Carney to say that the deaths, although uncommon, were not rare. There have been as many as 50 suspected cases of flu among the 150 residents of the Birchwood Terrace Healthcare facility; and health department records indicate that at least four Birchwood residents died from flu or flu-related illness between Feb. 21 and Feb. 25, with several other deaths around the same time possibly flu-related. The nursing home said that about 80 percent of its employees and 95 percent of its residents were vaccinated against the flu. An epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Lynnette Brammer, noted that flu outbreaks are not unusual in such facilities, even when immunization coverage is high.

 
     
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