NYC Officials Say 12 Now Dead Of Swine Flu In City
MICHAEL FRAZIER
The number of deaths related to swine flu in New York City has reached double digits, with 12 deaths since the outbreak began in April in Queens, health officials said Wednesday.
The updated total – with three more deaths linked to the H1N1 virus – came before the city’s new health commissioner, Dr. Thomas Farley, is to give his first public report on swine flu at a City Council hearing Thursday.
On Monday, the agency reported the city’s ninth swine flu-related death. News of the three additional victims was reported Wednesday on the city Health Department’s Web site.
The agency declined to comment on the most recent cases.
On its Web site, the department said the three additional swine flu deaths include one person between the ages of 30 and 39, one person between the ages of 50 and 59, and one person older than 65.
The agency only recently began reporting online the deaths linked to the H1N1 virus. Before that, the department sent out news releases or held public health briefings to report such fatalities.
The ninth death, reported Monday, was of a victim described as older than 50 who had a pre-existing health condition. That death was reported on the same day that Farley took over as commissioner of the Health Department and announced that a department survey showed 7 percent of New Yorkers experienced flu-like illness between May 1 and May 20. The citywide survey didn’t indicate how many had swine flu.
Farley, a former professor at Tulane University, replaced Dr. Thomas Frieden, who resigned when President Barack Obama named him to lead the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
According to the most recent figures released by the CDC, New York City leads the nation in swine flu deaths.
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