Nov 11, 2009 By Josh Krysak 3 min read

A Connellsville woman has become the first Fayette County resident to die from the H1N1 virus. Fayette County Deputy Coroner Marisa Springer confirmed Tuesday that the woman died as a result of the swine flu in early November.

Springer said the woman’s identity is not being released at this time because of privacy and medical reasons and noted that the public release of the victim’s identity would have to come from the state Department of Health.

“At this point, all we can confirm is that we have had our first confirmed death from the H1N1 virus in Fayette County,” Springer said.

The confirmation came after coroner officials conducted an autopsy and performed toxicology tests that revealed the woman was infected with the swine flu, Springer said.

She said the woman, who was in her 30s, did not suffer from any other medical conditions or ailments.

According to the Associated Press, swine flu is considered widespread in 48 states. Hawaii and Mississippi are the exceptions.

Mississippi was removed from the list earlier this week possibly reflecting that flu activity is beginning to wane in some parts of the Southeast.

Officials from the Center for Disease Control said 129 children have died from swine flu complications since the virus was first identified in April.

About two-thirds of them had other health conditions, like asthma or neurological problems like cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy.

The government does not keep a close count of all swine flu deaths, but estimates the number is above 1,000.

Several million U.S. residents have been infected with H1N1, however the majority of patients have reported mild illness.

According to state health officials, 8,452 Pennsylvania residents have been diagnosed with H1N1, with 22 confirmed deaths caused by the virus.

Slightly more women have been diagnosed with the virus in Pennsylvania than men and more than 72 percent of confirmed cases in Pennsylvania have occurred in patients between the ages of 5 and 29 years old, officials said Tuesday.

The fewest cases have occurred in state residents over the age of 60.

Locally, the Connellsville woman is the first person to die from the disease in the four county region of Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties.

Officials said 18 cases have been confirmed in Fayette, 95 in Washington, 216 in Westmoreland and just two cases have been confirmed in Greene.

Officials said that of the more than 8,000 cases reported so far in state, only 4 percent have required hospitalization.