First H1N1 death was in Eastern Iowa, but officials offer few details

The state's first death attributable to the H1N1 virus happened in Eastern Iowa, the Iowa Department of Public Health revealed Tuesday.

That person was middle-aged, but the department is citing state confidentiality laws in declining to release further information, including whether or not the victim had an underlying medical condition.

On Monday, the department announced that Iowa had its first death from H1N1 flu, but did not say when or where the person - male or female, old or young - had died.

That left open questions about the strain and its effects, including what age group the virus is affecting, if patients with underlying medical conditions are especially at risk and how seriously Iowans should be taking the epidemic.

Elderly people are usually most at risk in a flu outbreak, but health officials have said H1N1 virus, formerly known as swine flu, has hit relatively few people over age 65.

Department Director Tom Newton said state laws on communicable disease limits what the department can release to protect the victim's family's privacy.

The law notes that reports identifying a person infected with a reportable disease are confidential and shall not be accessible to the public.

It goes on to say that information contained in the report may be reported in public health records in a manner that prevents the identification of any person or business named in the report.

The Gazette did not request the identity of the person who died, but asked for an age, where the death happened and whether or not the victim had an underlying medical condition - information that has been reported in other states.

Previously, Iowa health officials have released the area where deaths from the mosquito-borne West Nile virus occurred and the victims' approximate age and sex.

Newton said that information is unimportant.

“When we're dealing with an outbreak like we have, the potential is there will be more of these cases,” he said. “Where it occurred doesn't matter because (H1N1 flu) is circulating all around the state.”

Statewide, 208 cases of H1N1 have been confirmed since the first was reported in May. The University Hygienic Laboratory and state health department continue to track positive cases.