By Catherine Wolf, KWMU
Clayton, MO –
A 44-year-old St. Louis County man who was infected with swine flu died Tuesday morning at an area hospital. The man had been hospitalized since early May. He became ill about a week after traveling Mexico.
St. Louis County Health Department Director Dolores Gunn says officials had been monitoring his progress.
"We had been aware of his illness and investigating not only his particular case but also those who are close to him, his family members and anyone who was in close contact with him."
Gunn says no one who had been in contact with the man has tested positive for swine flu. She says it's too early to say whether swine flu caused the man's death.
"In St. Louis County and in the state of Missouri the disease cases have been very mild. This is just a very unusual case that this 44-year-old male that was infected with H1N1 passed away."
Missouri has reported 20 cases of swine flu. Four of those are in St. Louis County, in residents under 18 years old. This would be Missouri's first death from the virus.
Nationwide, there are more than 5,000 confirmed and suspected cases. Five people in the U.S. have died from the disease, and another U.S. death is being investigated for swine flu.