Calvert County Flu Update 5th Family Member Hospitalized

Testing indicates influenza H3

Friday, Mar. 09, 2012

Three members of a Lusby family have died and another is reportedly recovering due to a severe respiratory illness that preliminary testing indicates was influenza H3, a strain of influenza A.

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According to the press release, preliminary testing at the DHMH Laboratories Administration indicates that all four people had influenza H3, a strain of influenza A that has been circulating this season, and these cases were complicated by bacterial co-infections, which is a known complication of influenza infection. Additional testing is being conducted for all cases.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Ann Flanagan, supervisor for disease surveillance and response at the health department, said a Prince George’s County resident, “who was not part of the care of [the] family,” was admitted to the Washington Hospital Center for “other issues and she had developed flu like symptoms … so they’re treating her.” Flanagan said the resident was a family member of the four people, “but was not part of the care of the person who died.”

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