PITTSBURGH -- Health officials say Deborah Spangler was only 45 and in general good health before getting sick recently -- and the cause of the Butler County woman's death is now confirmed as H1N1 flu, also known as swine flu.
Spangler, of Renfrew, died Sept. 10 at Butler Memorial Hospital, where she went after suffering from flu or pneumonia-like symptoms for some time.
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Watch Jon Greiner's ReportDr. Bruce Dixon, director of the Allegheny County Health Department, and Dr. Cyril Wecht, the county's former medical examiner, said on Wednesday that tests show Spangler died of complications from H1N1 flu and bacterial pneumonia.
"This was a 45-year-old woman in perfectly good health, and that is the significance of this case -- a healthy person with no predisposing conditions such as a respiratory problem, a heart problem, and/or a woman who is pregnant," Wecht said.
H1N1 In Pa. - Go to the state's health information Web siteWhat's significant about Spangler's case is that she was younger and healthier than most H1N1 flu victims, who usually have underlying health issues.
"She was quite ill -- difficulty walking, talking, so on -- and an outpatient X-ray was ordered. She still was not hospitalized," Wecht said.
Spangler went to a doctor for her flulike symptoms, but she was not prescribed Tamiflu and her condition worsened to the point that she eventually died.
"She became increasingly ill and became somewhat lulled, I think, into a state of acceptance," said Wecht.
If the woman would have had Tamiflu earlier, Dixon said it would have increased her possibility of recovering, so he said people need to be more aware of the necessary precautions.
"Over half of them have some underlying secondary infection as well, which is bacterial pneumonia," Dixon said. "Even in the best of medical hands, that particular combination of influenza and bacterial pneumonia seems to have a fatality rate of close to 50 percent."
At the news conference, Dixon said the first batch of H1N1 flu vaccine was ordered Wednesday for western Pennsylvania, where there have been more than 300 cases of H1N1 flu this year.
Related - Hope To Get A Swine Flu Shot At Work? Not LikelyThe state Health Department said Wednesday that healthy children ages 5 to 9 in areas where H1N1 flu is most active -- the southeast, north-central and southwest portions of Pennsylvania -- will be eligible to get the nasal mist vaccine.
It will be available through schools, doctors' offices and health clinics that preregistered with the state.
By mid-January, Pennsylvania should receive enough doses of the vaccine to cover teens, young adults, pregnant women, health care workers and others.
Twelve people have died from H1N1 flu in Pennsylvania,
including an Allegheny County man whose name was not released by doctors.
Spangler's case is the first H1N1 flu death in Butler County. Wecht said people have been avoiding the Spanglers because they had an H1N1 victim in the family.
"It's almost a kind of shunning, an empathetic one, but nevertheless a shunning, and I think this is absolutely absurd. Not to mention, scientifically, it has no basis," Wecht said.
Residents at choir practice at a local church to those taking a night-time walk told WTAE Channel 4 Action News they have no such fears.
"You know, people just need to follow guidelines that they've been given, but avoiding contact with those folks unnecessarily isn't necessary," said Hope Rouda.
"Keep yourself clean, you know, wash your hands like you're supposed to. Unless you hear about a significant outbreak, I don't see a reason to be afraid of it. I mean, it doesn't scare me," said Eileen Mahoney.
Slideshow - Return Of Swine Flu: What's Ahead For Americans?To avoid spreading the infection, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people with symptoms stay home from school, work and crowded settings.
Symptoms may include fever, coughing, headaches, muscle or joint pain, sore throat, chills, fatigue and runny nose.
While medical experts are still learning about H1N1 flu, both of the doctors at Wednesday's news conference cautioned Pittsburghers against panicking.
"One of our epidemiologists yesterday calculated that more people died of the common cold yearly than have died thus far of H1N1 flu," Dixon said.
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