PARKERBURG - A pregnant woman from Wood County is the latest fatality attributed to the swine flu, health officials announced on Friday.

Dr. Sherif Ibrahim, regional epidemiologist for the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department, issued a three-paragraph statement late Friday afternoon saying the woman was pregnant "and the cause of death is attributed to complications associated with H1N1 influenza."

The release doesn't disclose the woman's name, age or where she died. When contacted by the newspaper, Ibrahim declined to release these details.

She is the first confirmed death from the virus in Wood County and is at least the fifth person to have died in West Virginia from the swine flu. She is also the first death reported from the swine flu that was not in Cabell County.

"Health officials wish to convey their deep condolences to the patient's family," the health department said.

Pregnancy increases susceptibility to H1N1, Ibrahim said.

While pregnant women represent only 1 percent of the U.S. population, nearly 6 percent of H1N1 deaths are women who are pregnant, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The immune systems of pregnant women are weakened and vulnerable to viruses," Ibrahim said. "Any woman who is pregnant should get both the seasonal flu vaccine and the H1N1 vaccine as soon as it is made available."

Ibrahim urged pregnant women experiencing flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache, nausea or a cough and sore throat, to immediately contact their physician.

The health department will hold a special clinic in the coming weeks about pregnant women and H1N1 influenza.

Three other West Virginia residents have been confirmed as deaths from swine flu. Also, a Chesapeake, Ohio, woman died at a Huntington hospital.

They were:

• Michael Bloomfield, 51, of Kanawha County, an emergency room nurse at St. Mary's Medical Center, Huntington, died Sept. 3 at St. Mary's.

• Amy M. Scott, 37, of Chesapeake, who worked for a health care service in Huntington, Pro Nursing, died Oct. 1 at St. Mary's. The Cabell Huntington Health Department said the woman had an underlying medical condition.

• Patrick Wheeler, 14, a student at Cabell Midland High School, died Oct. 3 at Cabell Huntington Hospital. Youth also are among the high-risk groups.

• Deanna McNeely, 39, Milton, died Oct. 8 at Cabell Huntington Hospital. She also had an underlying health condition.

At least five people have died from the virus in Ohio, including a 14-year-old boy on Oct. 8 from Columbus, the first child in Ohio to succumb to the swine flu, according to Ohio health officials.