Two Hidalgo County residents die from swine flu
EDINBURG -- Test results confirmed Monday that two Hidalgo County residents who died in hospitals earlier this month had swine flu.
The deaths - the first two reported in Hidalgo County from the H1N1 swine flu virus - may be due to underlying health conditions for the victims: a teenage boy and a woman in her 30s.
Pending tests will confirm whether the conditions contributed to their deaths, said Dr. Brian Smith, a Texas Department of State Health Services regional director who oversees the Rio Grande Valley. But with the number of confirmed cases of swine flu in the county spilling over 500 - the highest in the state - the pandemic is ongoing.
"This flu is not going away," he said. "This is something that is ongoing and that we'll be watching for a while."
Swine flu was officially declared a pandemic last week by the World Health Organization as the number of cases surged past 30,000.
The virus, which sparked panic after more than 100 people were killed in Mexico, has hit South Texas and the Valley particularly hard.
With the region's number of cases approaching 1,000, it has more cases than 44 states combined and contributed to 10 percent of the death toll in the United States.
Smith said the region's proximity to Mexico - the epicenter of the virus - is likely contributing to the high number of cases here.
However, Smith said, the virus is still in line with what health experts expect to see from the seasonal flu that kills roughly 36,000 people every year.
The Centers for Disease Control is working to get a flu vaccine done before flu season starts in earnest in January, he said. There is also concern the virus may mutate and grow stronger over the summer.
Because of the high number of cases of swine flu in the area, health officials are encouraging residents to follow basic health care advice like washing hands frequently and covering coughs.
Hidalgo County health department director Eddie Olivarez said residents who are sick should visit a doctor shortly after the first sign of symptoms.
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Jared Janes covers Hidalgo County government, Edinburg and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4424.
