Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait's office reported that the victim was a middle-aged man who died in mid-October after hospitalization with the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus.

Tait reported that health officials hadn't been able to count the man's death as official until definitive

laboratory test results were completed.

“We know that H1N1 is present throughout our community, as it is throughout the nation,” Tait said Monday, offering her condolences to the family.

The vast majority of those cases, Tait said, will include mild or moderate illness, with the patients recovering.

She said Lake County man who died had underlying health conditions that may have placed him at risk for severe H1N1 illness. The man died from secondary complications, Tait said.

So far, 249 H1N1 deaths have been reported statewide, with a total of 4,047 hospitalizations, according to the California Department of Public Health.

A vaccine for H1N1 has begun arriving in Lake and neighboring Mendocino County in limited supplies and isn't yet widely available, health officials from both counties reported Monday.

Lake County's first H1N1 flu case was confirmed in a 39-year-old woman in June, as Lake County News has reported.

Health officials continue to advise people to take the following precautions to avoid spreading the virus:

• Stay home when you are sick with flu-like symptoms (fever and cough or sore throat).

• Avoid close contact with others as much as possible (two arms lengths away).

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

• Cover your mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing, and always wash your hands afterwards or use alcohol-based hand cleaners.

• Wash your hands frequently.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.

Anyone experiencing flu-like symptoms should call their health care provider if they have severe

symptoms, trouble breathing, are pregnant, or have underlying medical conditions such as asthma, chronic disease, or neuromuscular disorders.

A tool to assist in self-evaluation of influenza symptoms can be found at www.flu.gov . More

information about influenza also is available at www.cdph.ca.gov/HealthInfo/discond/pages/swineinfluenza.aspx .

Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

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Comments (11)

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Not to be disrespectful
written by kd006, November 02, 2009

But we have lost more people in the county recently to auto accidents and murders, is that als a pandemic?

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Thanks, Mr. Obama
written by Old Coot, November 02, 2009

It's been widely reported that the terrorists we hold in Guantanamo will receive flu immunization shots long before many of us do.

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Obammie Flu, Low-rated comment [Show]

Yeah...
written by That Redneck, November 03, 2009

because Bush and Cheney were SOOOOO much better than Obama and the alternative to Obama was SOOOO much better also.

We got Obama, let's see how we can help. Get out of your trailers, fire up your motorized scooter, put in your fake teeth and do something positive.

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Didn't you know?
written by solincobb, November 03, 2009

The flu shots are a conspiracy to poison the nation and take over the world by the Illuminati (It's been widely report). I suggest you either get the shot or don’t get the shot, but shut-up the hell up about the stupid commentary about secret conspiracies, and dumb put-downs.

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Now Now
written by bearer, November 03, 2009

Lets not get all testy.

Everyone knows the flu shot program was Obama showing the average American just how well his government run health care program will work.

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Terror Alert Red!
written by Ida, November 03, 2009

I am going to camp out in front of my doctor's office until they get the vaccine even though I am not in a high risk group and am perfectly healthy, I don't want to die!!! They say kids and pregnant women should get it but WHAT ABOUT ME!!?? I don't want to be sick either.

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people die of seasonal flu every year and it is not reported
written by boondoggle, November 03, 2009

There is a serious flu in the Ukraine that your vaccine in not effective against so don't visit there. Do some research and arm yourself with information.

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Immunizing the detainees
written by Donna Christopher, November 03, 2009

before others has gotta be Faux News fodder. They are locked up, essentially in solitary - who they gonna get it from, our immunized military? Sorry bearer, we knew H1N1 was headed this way while Dumba was still prez. Nice try tho. And let us not forget the R's draggin their feet in confirming a head of HHS.

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I guess it is nice to live in a shell
written by bearer, November 03, 2009

And blame the last president for things not taken care of in the last 9 months.

Exactly when is Obama going to be the leader in your eyes?

The story about detainees was run on MSNBC, and MSN home page. As always, democrats can not face reality and blame everything on someone else.

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Let's be Fair...
written by Jeannie, November 03, 2009

The Obama administration is doing it's best with a situation that no one planned or wished for. Former President Bush would have faced the exact same problem. Iam a high-risk person but am reasonable about what it takes to manufacture large quantities of vaccine. I lived through the Polio vaccination at school.
Let's stop calling names and be good citizens.

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