Healey’s death resulted from swine flu, according to the Patriot Ledger in Quincy, Mass. The newspaper did not disclose the source of that information.
Healey died three days after Kimberly Young a recent Miami graduate living and working near campus, died of viral pneumonia. Friends initially suspected that Young died from swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus.
“It’s a really big deal,” said Jessica Gisewhite, a Miami junior from Flemington, N.J. “That is really saddening to me that people are dying from the flu.”
The Ohio Department of Health could not confirm that Healey’s death was related to the H1N1 virus. “We do not have a new H1N1-related death reported to us,” spokesman Kristopher Weiss said Monday.
MU health officials have seen about 400 students since August with what they believe to be the H1N1 virus, said Gail Walenga, assistant vice president for student health and wellness.
Three specimens from those students sent to ODH tested positive for H1N1, Walenga said.
“This is a relatively mild disease,” Walenga said. “The majority of the students that we see have recovered successfully from their symptoms.”
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