A woman in her 20s with a confirmed case of A/H1N1 flu died in the U.S. state of Washington on Friday, becoming the state's second death related to the disease, local media reported on Saturday, Xinhua reported.
The woman, from the state's Pierce County, apparently had underlying risk factors and had been hospitalized for two weeks before she died from flu complications, Seattle's KING-TV television station said in a report.
The total number of A/H1N1 flu cases in Washington state is at least 574, and most of the patients had not been to Mexico, the report noted.
In early May, a man in his 30s in Snohomish County became the first Washington resident to die after being infected with A/H1N1 flu. Health officials then said the man, who had an underlying heart problem, died with what appeared to be complications of flu.
According to Washington State Department of Health, as of Friday, 43 Washington residents were hospitalized with lab- confirmed cases of A/H1N1 flu.
Although most A/H1N1 flu cases have been mild to moderate, "it is anticipated in flu season that there may be some cases that are more serious, and possibly some that may result in patient death," Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department said in a statement released on Friday confirming the state's second A/H1N1 flu death.
The public, however, is not at any elevated risk, the agency said, advising residents to "continue to practice basic disease prevention behaviors such as covering the cough, vigorous hand washing or using alcohol-based sanitizers and staying home when sick."
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