A 44-year-old male became the second fatality in Israel from swine flu, succumbing to the illness on erev shabbos. The man was hospitalized in Ichilov Hospital for about two weeks. Another man, 34, remains in critical condition in an Ichilov ICU with sever pulmonary compromise resulting from the illness.

According to the hospital’s chief of intensive care medicine, Prof. Patrick Surkin, the man was initially treated with antibiotic therapy for a hand infection. He then began presenting with respiratory difficulties and due to underlying medical issues, his system rapidly deteriorated to a general systemic collapse and death.

The professor explained that on once day, a chest x-ray showed his lungs were clear but a day later; there was a definite presence of infiltrate. He was treated aggressively and responded positively, disconnected from a respirator in a number of days, breathing spontaneously and showing a return of kidney function.

He then developed a secondary infection and his system was unable to handle the insult, resulting in systemic collapse and death. The professor explained the occurrence of a second infection is not rare, but unfortunately, the body is usually very weak, and in this case, too weak to recover.

In other tragic medical news in Israel, an 80-year-old female taken for emergency surgery on Sunday died after she was given the incorrect blood type. Health Ministry and hospital officials are investigating.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)