MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- A Morgantown High School student died Sunday afternoon, possibly after suffering from the H1N1 flu.
Misty Cricks, 17, was described as "very friendly, very outgoing, enjoyable to be around" by Principal Robert DeSantis. "Just a deep sense of loss for the entire school."
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Watch Shannon Perrine's ReportThe cause of death is not yet known, but
Monongalia County Schools Superintendent Frank Devono said Cricks' parents told the school that she may have had H1N1 flu.
Devono said Cricks' mother told him that the teen came down with flulike symptoms a couple of weeks ago, and when her condition worsened, she was taken to Ruby Memorial Hospital, where she died at about 1 p.m. Sunday.
An autopsy will be completed in an effort to determine the cause of death.
About 11 percent of the student body is out sick with a flulike illness, Devono said. Grief counselors were made available at the school.
Students have been "pretty quiet," DeSantis said. "I talked with a few teachers, and when it was announced in their room, everybody got kind of hush-hush and, 'I knew her,' and haven't been real open about discussing it, and I think there's a real concern, being as widespread as it is."
Health officials say 95 percent of those who get the H1N1 flu will recover on their own.
"There's going to be 5 to 10 percent of the population that need medical attention," said Robert White, of the West Virginia Health Department. "We are telling people if you're having trouble breathing, if you think you have complications, call your physician, report to the emergency room so that you can get medical treatment."
The school is doing what it can to stop the spread of the virus by disinfecting surfaces at night and during the middle of the school day, DeSantis said.
Western Pennsylvania has seen two deaths associated with H1N1 flu --
45-year-old Deborah Spangler in Renfrew, Butler County, and
an unidentified 27-year-old man in Allegheny County.
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