Respiratory Illness Kills Three Members of Family in Maryland
March 8th, 2012Via: NBC:
Lab testing identified the same strain of influenza in two of the three victims who died with respiratory sickness last week in Calvert County.
The county’s health department has been investigating a cluster of illnesses that led to three deaths in Lusby, MD, near the Calvert Cliffs nuclear facility.
The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Health said on Wednesday afternoon that Influenza H3, a strain of Influenza A that has been circulating this season, was found in two of the cases.
The department said in both cases, bacterial co-infections, a known complication of flu infection, also contributed to the victims’ deaths.
An 81-year-old woman was the first to fall sick, in late February. The woman’s three adult children, two daughters and a son, traveled to her home to care for her. Subsequently, they became sick as well with similar symptoms. The mother and two of her children died in the first week of March.
On Monday afternoon, a team wearing hazardous material suits from the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene entered the home of the 81-year-old to collect samples.
