New York teacher dies of swine flu

18 May 2009, 10:53 am   -   Source: AP/AFP/SBS
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Several schools across New York City have been closed because of the swine flu epidemic

Several schools across New York City have been closed because of the swine flu epidemic

The assistant principal of a New York school has become the first person in the city to die of the swine flu virus.

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The assistant principal of a New York school has become the first person in the city to die of the swine flu virus.

Mitchell Wiener, 55, who had worked at an intermediate school in Queens, died on Sunday evening, Flushing Hospital Medical Centre spokesman Andrew Rubin said.

Wiener had been sick for nearly a week before his school was closed on Thursday. He had been hospitalised and on a ventilator.

The New York Times reported Wiener had been "overwhelmed by the illness despite treatment with an experimental drug," citing Ole Pedersen, a spokesman for the hospital.

The city's first outbreak of swine flu occurred three weeks ago, when about 700 students and 300 other people associated with a Catholic high school in Queens began falling ill following the return of several students from holidays in Mexico, the epicentre of the outbreak.

Schools closed by outbreak

Five more city schools will close on Monday because of concerns about the disease, bringing the total number of those shut to 11.

City health officials announced on Sunday that four Queens public schools and one Catholic school would close Monday for up to five school days.

Three of the public schools are in the same building.

Each school had students with flu-like illness last week.

There were no documented cases of swine flu, or the H1N1 virus, at any of the schools, said Jessica Scaperotti, a spokeswoman for the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

The department is monitoring unusual clusters of flu cases as it works to stop the spread of the swine flu virus, she said.

Swine flu spreading worldwide

Six schools were closed last week after hundreds of students became ill with suspected swine flu symptoms.

Besides Wiener, no one else in New York City has become seriously ill from the virus.

Six swine flu deaths have now been reported in the United States, the country with the most cases after Mexico.

The World Health Organization said Friday that the disease is continuing to spread worldwide.

The latest WHO data shows 8,451 people in 38 countries confirmed to have caught the A(H1N1) virus.

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