Girl, 5th Probable H1N1 Death in Lake County

Buffalo Grove, IL. - A 12-year-old northwest suburban boy who died Thursday was the fifth Lake County resident to succumb to the H1N1virus since April.

The Buffalo Grove boy, whose name was not released, had “multiple underlying chronic conditions” that increased his vulnerability to the virus, according to the Lake County Health Dept.

He was hospitalized and died on Thursday, a release from the department said.

“We are particularly saddened that this is the second H1N1-related death of a child in Lake County in a very short time frame,” Irene Pierce, health department executive director, said in a statement.

“Children with underlying health conditions are especially vulnerable to this illness, and thus they are among our highest priority groups to receive the vaccine.”

In Lake County, 61 people have been hospitalized due to the H1N1 virus and five have died.

A 15-year-old girl, a 74-year-old Gurnee man, a 41-year-old Gurnee woman and an 80-year-old Long Grove woman all had H1N1 contribute to their deaths, the release said.

Statewide, 1,003 people have been hospitalized and 36 have died either from or partially from the swine flu, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Lake County received its first shipment of the H1N1 vaccine on Oct. 26 and has been distributing the vaccine through five walk-in clinics, the release said.