UNO student dies from H1N1

A Douglas County woman in her 20s died Wednesday night of H1N1 flu, becoming the county’s first death officially attributed to that illness.

The woman, whom health officials declined to identify, also suffered from a hereditary muscular disorder, said Dr. Adi Pour, director of the Douglas County Health Department. Sources close to the woman later identified her as Khrystyna Serednytsky, a University of Nebraska at Omaha psychology student.

Wendy Townley, a UNO spokeswoman, said the woman had been a student there since 2005. She was enrolled for the fall semester, which began Monday, but hadn’t yet been on campus this week, Townley said.

According to a Facebook page registered under her name, Serednytsky, listed as a graduate of Omaha Westside High School, had muscular dystrophy. Health officials wouldn’t confirm whether that was the condition with which Serednytsky was afflicted.

People with underlying medical conditions, such as diabetes and heart and lung diseases, are at increased risk of becoming extremely ill from the seasonal flu and the H1N1 flu.

They should be treated promptly with antiviral medication if they suffer flu symptoms, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

Most people so far have recovered from the H1N1 flu without seeing a physician, Pour said. Serednytsky is Nebraska’s third death from H1N1 flu. Iowa has reported one death.

Pour stressed the importance of preventive steps. Those include washing hands frequently, covering a cough with a shirt sleeve, avoiding close contact with those who show flu symptoms and staying home when sick.

A vaccine against H1N1 flu isn’t expected to be available until mid-October. Vaccinations against the common, seasonal flu are already available at such places as Kohll’s Pharmacy and the Visiting Nurse Association.

World-Herald staff writer Kirby Kaufman contributed to this report.

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