Health officials believe the death of an elderly Jefferson County woman was caused by the influenza epidemic sweeping the nation. No other influenza-related deaths have been reported in Jefferson and Clallam counties.
The woman had an underlying lung disease, but the flu is believed to be the cause of her death this week, Clallam-Jefferson county health officer Dr. Tom Locke said Thursday.
Locke refused to release the identity of the woman.
“There’s a privacy issue when we’re dealing with such small numbers of people,” he said.
Locke said the woman was the first person in Jefferson and Clallam counties to die due to influenza, adding the health department won’t be releasing much information on the incident.
The state Department of Health doesn’t keep track of the number of flu deaths statewide.
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The rest of the story appears in the Friday/Saturday Peninsula Daily News.