HealthWatch

ALAMEDA (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ― A middle-aged Alameda County man who had tested positive for the H1N1 virus died Wednesday, marking the second swine flu-related death in that county and the third in the Bay Area.

Alameda County health officials on Thursday reported the death, but citing agency policy, did not release identifying information.
 
Health Department spokeswoman Sherri Willis said the man had been hospitalized for other chronic health conditions before his death.

On Tuesday, county health officials had announced the death of another middle-aged man who tested positive for the H1N1 virus, and who also suffered from chronic health problems.

Last week, health officials in Contra Costa County announced that a 9-year-old girl in that county with H1N1 died May 29.

In all, California has had six swine flu deaths.

Aside from the three Bay Area deaths, the others occured in Southern California. They included an Orange County man whose death was reported Monday, and a San Bernardino County man and a Los Angeles County woman who both died of the virus in May.

The World Health Organization on Thursday declared the H1N1 outbreak a pandemic.

"Countries should prepare to see cases, or the further spread of cases, in the near future. Countries where outbreaks appear to have peaked should prepare for a second wave of infection," WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said in a statement.

As of Wednesday, 74 countries had reported 27,737 cases of H1N1 infection and 141 deaths, according to WHO statistics.

In California, the state had recorded 796 confirmed cases of the swine flu as of June 4, the latest figures available from the state Department of Health.

The state public health department "has prepared for pandemic influenza and has already been actively responding to it," said Dr. Mark Horton, director of the California Department of Public Health.

"While there have been hospitalizations and deaths from the virus in California, and we expect there will be more, for most people who contract the virus the symptoms have been mild," Horton said.

Despite the virus' new classification as a pandemic, the Bay Area's response to the outbreak will likely stay the same, said Joy Alexiou, spokeswoman for the Santa Clara County Department of Public Health.

"For us particularly, it doesn't really change much because we've already been responding to it pretty much like it was a pandemic, in terms of things like laboratory testing and recommendations to public schools," Alexiou said.

As of Wednesday, Santa Clara County had 47 confirmed H1N1 cases and 42 probable cases, Alexiou said. Seven people had been hospitalized by the illness, but all are either fully recovered or are recovering at home, she said.

San Francisco had 10 confirmed cases and no probable cases as of Tuesday, San Francisco Department of Public Health spokeswoman Eileen Shields said.

Marin County had 17 confirmed cases and three probable cases as of Tuesday, health officials there said.

Solano County had one confirmed case and no probable cases, while Sonoma County had recorded one probable and five confirmed cases, county health officer Mary Maddux-Gonzalez said.

No cases had been reported in Napa County and totals for San Mateo County were not available.

Alexiou said health departments are continuing to promote common-sense precautions, such as washing hands regularly, covering mouths when coughing, and staying home when sick.

While swine flu has dominated headlines in the last few months, seasonal influenza also claims lives. According to CDC statistics, approximately 36,000 Americans, primarily elderly persons, children and those with certain medical conditions, die of seasonal flu each year.

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