http://pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburght ... 43529.htmlHealth officials are testing cultures to determine whether a Butler County woman died from the H1N1 virus.
If so, it would be the first confirmed death in Southwestern Pennsylvania that can be directly linked to H1N1, otherwise known as swine flu, according to state Department of Health statistics.
As of 3 p.m. Wednesday, there were 2,181 confirmed cases of H1N1 in the state and 10 confirmed deaths, all from the eastern part of the state, according to Health Department statistics.
Deborah Spangler, 45, who had been complaining of flu-like symptoms for a few days, died late last week at Butler Memorial Hospital, said former Allegheny County Coroner Dr. Cyril H. Wecht, who was hired by her family to do a private autopsy.
"It is a possible H1N1 flu death," Wecht said Wednesday. "However, we are waiting for culture results that have not come back."
The cultures are being analyzed by Dr. Bruce W. Dixon, director of the Allegheny County Health Department.
"If this person did have H1N1, I would not be surprised, because that's the predominant type of flu that's going around," Dixon said.
Wecht described Spangler as "an otherwise healthy" woman who developed pneumonia and died.
"I did talk with a doctor who knew about the case. He said she had been having flu-like problems for a while," Wecht said. "It developed relatively quickly."
Wecht said he did not find any other problems that could have caused Spangler's death but said he is awaiting the results of tissue tests and cultures on heart and lung tissues before making a final determination.
"The culture is necessary to tell me what particular type of virus or bacteria there is," Wecht said.
Spangler's family could not be reached for comment.
State Health Department officials do not comment on nor confirm specific cases, spokeswoman Stacy Kriedeman said.
There have been seven confirmed H1N1 deaths in Philadelphia County and one each in Berks, Montgomery and Pike counties, state Health Department statistics show.
The records show there have been 11 confirmed and one probable cases of H1N1 in Butler County.
There have been 160 confirmed and 24 probable cases of H1N1 in Allegheny County.
There have been eight confirmed cases in Beaver County; one in Fayette and Armstrong counties; five in Indiana County; four in Mercer County; 11 in Washington County and 13 in Westmoreland County.
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