One Death A
Day From
AH1N1 This
Week: Total Now At 10
An average of one person per day has died this
week from being infected with the AH1N1 flu
virus. Between July 11 and today, 6 people
have died in Costa Rica.
The latest victim is a 41 year old man who
according to director of the Vigilancia de
la Salud, María Ethel Trejos, was a heavy
smoker.
The news that smokers and the obese are at
high risk of dying if infected by the AH1N1
virus has raised concern among many Costa
Ricans.
One such person, Josué Loría, a taxi drivers
in Desamparados, told the Spanish daily, Al
Dia, that he used to smoke a pack a day, but
is now down to a half pack a day, concerned
of the risk of infection.
"I constantly clean my taxi with alcohol
because fares (passengers) rarely protect
themselves when sneezing or coughing", said
Loría.
Those are higher risk of death after
infection are the hypertense, diabetics and
pregnant women. The Caja Costarricense de
Seguro Social (CCSS) reveals that 25% of the
population over the age of 20 are hypertense.
That converts to 525.000 people. The CCSS
says that another 700.000 suffer from asthma
and some 1.5 million have some degree of
obesity.
The numbers are based on a 2004 study.
And, according to the Instituto de
Alcoholismo y Farmacodependencia (IAFA),
almost 500.000 Costa Ricans between the ages
of 12 and 70, smoke.
The ministra de Salud, María Luisa Ávila, is
asking - pleading - that those in the high
risk groups take adopt extreme measures of
hygiene, stay away from public places as
much as possible and for smokers, this may
be a good time to quit.
"The must bear in mind that they are already
with a health problem and that the majority
of the victims have been with people with
high risk factors", said Ávila.
Apart from the 10 deaths, of the almost 500
confirmed with the AH1N1 infection, 102 are
in currently in hospital, the majority (82)
in isolation units and 20 in the intensive
care units.
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