A 50-YEAR-OLD woman with life-threatening cancer has become the second person to die in Victoria with swine flu.
“The woman died early today at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, where she has been a long-term patient receiving treatment for cancer,” Victorian Health Minister Daniel Andrews said.
The woman was admitted to the hospital last Saturday with respiratory illness and became progressively unwell, requiring her to be moved to the intensive care ward on Sunday.
She was confirmed influenza A positive on Monday and her positive test result for H1N1 Influenza 09 came back yesterday.
“Her family have been informed of the H1N1 diagnosis,” Mr Andrews said.
He said a second Peter Mac patient with H1N1 was receiving appropriate care.
Victoria’s acting Chief Health Officer Dr Rosemary Lester said both patients needed to be treated at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre because of underlying medical conditions.
“We know that for immunosuppressed people, especially those who are being treated for life-threatening cancers, any respiratory illness can seriously compromise their health,” Dr Lester said.
She said follow-up public health precautions, including the provision of Tamiflu, had also been instituted for contacts of both patients in the hospital.
Mr Andrews said Peter Mac had established a separate high-dependency unit to limit the spread of the disease.
The Victorian Government is working with health services to ensure they could meet the increased demand for services throughout the flu season, he said.
“We will continue to take the necessary steps to ensure all flu patients receive the appropriate care,” Mr Andrews said.
Earlier today, Dr Lester issued an unreserved apology to the parents of a Victorian man who died after contracting swine flu and whose identity was revealed to the media before the family was spoken to.
The parents of 35-year-old victim Anthony Splatt say they were distressed that no one from the Department of Human Services contacted them before Dr Lester talked to the media about his death.
“I am very distressed personally that we have caused this family further distress and I unreservedly apologise for that,” Dr Lester told the ABC.
Mr Splatt was the first Victorian with swine flu to die.
The national number of swine flu related deaths stands at three after a sufferer died earlier this month in South Australia.
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