6 more die of H1N1; asthma sufferers encouraged to get vaccine

Kim Kozlowski / The Detroit News

Six more people have died from the H1N1 virus since last week, state health officials said Monday as they strongly recommended people with asthma to get the swine and seasonal flu vaccines.

The total number of people who have died since Sept. 1 is now at 28, up from 22 last week.

Since the virus broke out in April, 38 people have died. Of the 34 cases that have been investigated, four cases were associated with asthma. It was unclear whether the most recent six deaths also had an underlying condition of asthma.

Nationally, 32 percent of all people hospitalized with swine flu also have asthma. Hospitalization linked to H1N1 is being studied in a small area of Michigan, near the capital. Currently, about 40 percent of adults and 47 percent of children hospitalized with H1N1 also had asthma.

Health officials decided to stress the importance of the flu vaccines for those with asthma since Michigan has a 9.5 percent rate of asthma, which is higher than the national rate of 7.9 percent.

Greg Holzman, state Chief Medical Executive, said he wanted to remind parents and anyone with asthma, "It is very important to get vaccinated both with the seasonal vaccine and the H1N1 vaccine."

kkozlowski@detnews.com (313) 222-2024