Swine flu victim in LaGrange sicker than most
The 30-year-old swine flu victim who had been hospitalized for two weeks in LaGrange is among the sicker patients in the country and has been transferred to Emory Medical Center in Atlanta, a health official said Friday.
Dr. Behzad Razavi, an infectious disease specialist at the West Georgia Medical System in LaGrange, said the woman remains in stable condition and that she was transferred to Emory on Thursday as a precaution and to take advantage of the infectious disease experts there. Her condition is not deteriorating.
Still, Razavi said the woman remains sicker than the vast majority of people who have contracted the H1N1 virus. Most victims generally recover within a few days without the need for hospitalization.
The woman, who lives in Kentucky and was visiting Georgia for a wedding, was the state's first confirmed case of the new swine flu. The state now has four confirmed cases and several probable cases.
Razavi said the woman has also developed pneumonia. He said doctors have yet to determine why her condition is more serious than so many other cases. She has no past history of serious medical problems. Specimens from her have been sent to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"She's seriously ill," he said.
The Kentucky woman had traveled to Mexico, which is considered the epicenter of the outbreak. She flew there with a companion April 17, and she started feeling chills, fever and headaches about a day later, said Dr. Elizabeth Ford, head of Georgia's Division of Public Health.
The woman flew home to Kentucky, where she lives in Bowling Green, on April 21, and two days later, still feeling ill, she drove with her 5-year-old daughter to Atlanta en route to LaGrange, where she was to attend a wedding, officials said.
Despite feeling poorly, the woman did some shopping in Atlanta between April 23 and Sunday. Officials did not say where she might have shopped. After attending the wedding, she was brought by family members to the LaGrange hospital.
At the hospital, the woman was kept in an isolated "negative pressure room," which means the air is regularly cleaned of any airborne pathogens. Doctors and nurses caring for her wore masks, gloves and gowns.
