Snohomish County man’s death could aid swine flu study

Test results from a Snoho­mish County man who apparently died from swine flu could provide important clues on how the virus is spreading and whether it is changing.

Medical information will be sent to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to determine if the man’s virus is the same as has been found elsewhere in the U.S. or if the virus has started to change or mutate, Dr. Gary Goldbaum, health officer for the Snoho­mish Health District, said Sunday.

The death, the third in the U.S. and the first in the region, was announced by Goldbaum and state health officials Saturday.

They said he was in his 30s, lived in Snohomish County, and had heart problems and viral pneumonia when he died.

On Sunday, KOMO TV reported that family members of the unidentified man are upset that his death is being linked to swine flu. They said the 39-year-old was 5-foot-6 and weighed about 400 pounds. They say he died of an enlarged heart and that there’s a family history of heart disease.

However, state health officials said Sunday that the virus causing his pneumonia was identified as swine flu.

Goldbaum said the man began feeling sick on April 30 and was given anti-viral medications. He died on May 6, while he was being taken to a King County hospital.

The death does not mean Snohomish County is being hit harder by the virus, Goldbaum said. “It could have popped up anywhere,” he said.

While health officials have characterized swine flu as no more deadly than seasonal flu, “it appears, perhaps, more aggressive in how quickly it attacks people,” Goldbaum said.

It also is affecting teenagers far more than other age groups. Nationally, 60 percent of those sickened through May 5 were 18 or younger. In Washington, the median age of people sickened by the virus is 13, said Mary Selecky, health secretary for the state Department of Health.

“There’s a lot we don’t understand about this virus,” Goldbaum said. So it’s important for the public to stay vigilant by washing hands frequently, coughing into tissues or a sleeve, and staying home from work or school when sick.

Dr. Yuan Po-Tu, who monitors flu issues for The Everett Clinic, said he’s concerned people are letting down their guard and not following these steps.

The fact that swine flu is spreading during May — when flu season is usually over — means it is not acting like typical seasonal flu, he said.

With just 2,500 cases confirmed since the virus was first found a few weeks ago in the U.S., there’s not enough information to know just how ill people will get from this virus and whether it will cause them to have health problems not usually associated with the flu, Tu said.

Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486, salyer@heraldnet.com.