THE SECOND person to die from swine flu in Ireland did in fact have a history of heart disease, it emerged yesterday.
While earlier indications from well-placed sources were that the 55-year-old Dublin bank official did not have an underlying condition or was not in any at risk group, The Irish Timesunderstands that he suffered a heart attack some months ago but had made a good recovery.
People with chronic heart disease are considered to be in an at-risk group for pandemic H1N1 flu but it is understood the dead man in this case was not considered to fall into the “chronic” disease category.
In addition the man, whose funeral Mass takes place today, was otherwise healthy when admitted to Beaumont Hospital with swine flu.
The man, who was single and worked for one of the country’s main banks, is not being identified at his family’s request.
A spokeswoman for the bank said yesterday it was following all HSE guidelines in relation to swine flu with updates given regularly to staff on the situation and what to be aware of.
Meanwhile, latest figures on the numbers of cases of swine flu presenting to GPs across the State as well as the numbers currently hospitalised as a result of the virus are due to be published by the Department of Health later today.
Yesterday two teachers unions, the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) and the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland (ASTI), met the Department of Education to air concerns about the preparedness of schools for the new term as swine flu spreads.
Afterwards the heads of both unions said they felt reassured and schools would reopen as normal. Máire Ní Chuinneagáin, president of the INTO, said the meeting clarified issues and she was heartened by the amount of planning that had been done for the pandemic.
She said the most important preventative strategy was handwashing and use of tissues when sneezing and coughing.
John White of the ASTI said the worst thing people could do was create a sense of panic. He said schools should carry on as normal and if a number of children became ill, they should contact their local public health department for advice.
In the meantime, advice for schools has been posted on the Department of Education’s website and a letter will also be sent to schools next week with further information.
Asked if schools should put in place alcohol hand gels, the HSE said soap and water would suffice for handwashing.
Meanwhile, following reports in Britain that doctors had been told the swine flu drug Tamiflu could put some patients at increased risk of suffering a stroke if they were already on the blood-thinning drug warfarin, the HSE said if patients on warfarin were being put on Tamiflu, doctors should check their blood readings more frequently and adjust medication.
The Irish Medicines Board said available data indicated the potential for drug interactions with Tamiflu was minimal. It added however that, as with any drug prescribed to patients taking warfarin, more frequent monitoring of blood readings may be prudent when Tamiflu was prescribed concurrently with warfarin.