Ned Kirsch's death 'not believed to be related to a public health concern'

MARTIN COUNTY — According to Vermont Health Department spokesman Ben Truman, Ned Kirsch's death "is not believed to be related to a public health concern."

Less than a month after his brother and sister-in-law died from complications of hepatitis A, and just days after he visited Palm City where they lived, Ned Kirsch, of Burlington, Vermont, died.

According to Truman, Ned Kirsch's death is being investigated by the Vermont agency in conjunction with the Martin County Health Department.

More:Ned Kirsch, brother of Jeffrey Kirsch, died Wednesday

Truman said the Vermont Medical Examiner's Office still is working to find Ned's cause of death and that a death certificate has not been created yet. 

Jeffrey and Nancy Kirsch, both 62, were found dead in their home in March from complications of hepatitis A, according to health officials. 

A couple who lived down the street from the Kirsches in Palm City, Martin Gucciardo and his wife, also got the virus. He told TCPalm reporters they didn't know Jeffrey and Nancy Kirsch.

More:What we don't know about the hepatitis A outbreak in Martin County

Florida health officials in Martin County on Tuesday were reporting 19 cases of Hepatitis A, as well as three deaths. The number has not changed since Friday.

The county is experiencing an outbreak and has been considered a "high risk" area since April 1 when it reached five confirmed cases of the virus. 

Hepatitis A is a highly contagious disease that attacks the liver and rarely causes death. The majority of the people that get the virus have flu-like symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and fevers, but recover within a week or two.

Dr. Carina Blackmore, state epidemiologist, said it is unusual for three people with the virus to die in one county in less than a month. She said there's been a clustering of hepatitis A cases in Palm City, but she believes that is random.

More: How Hep A can take a toll on local economy

The next level after an outbreak for a virus is an endemic, which the county is nowhere near reaching, said Florida Department of Health's Martin County spokeswoman Renay Rouse. For an area to be considered part of an endemic, the county has to regularly see people with the virus over a long period of time. 

Ned Kirsch, 53, spoke to TCPalm April 5. He said his brother told him he thought he had the flu.

“It’s all very strange to us,” he said about their deaths. “It makes no sense to us.”