A 25-year-old pregnant woman in Puerto Rico died in mid-October from complications of influenza, Puerto Rico Health Department Secretary Víctor Ramos reported on Tuesday, November 3. She had not received the flu vaccine for this season. Because of her condition, doctors performed an urgent cesarean section.
The baby was born prematurely and is in the neonatal intensive care unit. Ramos said the illness progressed suddenly: "Le evolución de la enfermedad fue súbita. Se puso grave en cuestión de días," and she kept worsening both respiratorily and circulatorily until she died.
He warned that influenza can cause serious problems in pregnancy, including premature births and very low birth weight babies. So far this year, seven pregnant women have been hospitalized with the disease in Puerto Rico. Ramos urged higher-risk groups to get vaccinated.