First H1N1-related death reported in Aiken County

The Wednesday death of an Aiken nurse appears to be the first documented fatality in Aiken County being linked to the H1N1 virus, according to officials.

Lois Hunter, 54, died from acute respiratory distress due to influenza A, H1N1, confirmed Aiken County Coroner Tim Carlton on Friday.

Her death has been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"This is the first (H1N1-related death) that I am aware of in Aiken," Carlton said. "If you look at her profile, however, it reflects what we have been hearing on the state and national level about H1N1-related deaths."

Hunter had a pre-existing congenital pulmonary disease, which affected her ability to breathe, Carlton said, and her immune system was compromised when she was admitted to Aiken Regional Medical Centers on Oct. 17. Hunter was admitted for fatigue and was suffering with respiratory issues.

Carlton said there is no way of knowing where Hunter was exposed to the flu. She had a flu vaccine about two or three weeks before she was admitted to the Aiken hospital, but it is not clear what type of flu shot she received.

Hunter was being treated at Aiken Regional Medical Centers until early Wednesday morning. She died as she was being transported by ambulance to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, where she was to undergo advanced care. She was taken to Trident Medical Center in North Charleston after she went into cardiac arrest. She was pronounced dead at 2:55 a.m.

Mary Brown, RN MSN, an infection prevention specialist at Aiken Regional, said the hospital adheres to strict safety protocol to ensure flu patients do not infect others. All suspected flu patients are given masks to wear and are isolated from other patients and staff.

Patients who are admitted are placed in "special interim precaution" rooms, in which all who enter must wear masks. More serious cases require all who enter to wear masks, goggles, gloves and gowns. Visitors are also strongly discouraged for those suspected of having the flu.

Brown said housekeepers frequently sanitize all surfaces in the hospital, particularly in the emergency room.

While only six cases of H1N1 have been confirmed at Aiken Regional, Brown said there are a number of others that have been suspected. Since treatment protocol would be the same for positive or negative testing, the Centers for Disease Control does not recommend testing for every case.

Brown said that this particular flu is in its second wave, the first having hit last spring. She said health officials are hopeful that a third wave does not occur in the spring, but will continue to maintain health precautions as needed.

"We'll keep doing all the things we do to protect the staff and the patients for as long as we need to," she said.

Contact Karen Daily at kdaily@aikenstandard.com.