1.   Clay County had one asthma death.

2.   Severe infection of mucus plugs that are trapped behind blocked airways and pneumonia have also been implicated in some asthma deaths.

3.   Some asthma deaths are related to a collapsed lung or to the escape of air into the chest, a condition known as pneumothorax.

4.   Wyandotte and Johnson counties in Kansas each had three asthma deaths.

5.   For reasons that are unclear, though, asthma deaths are more common in poor, largely black, urban areas.

6.   In fact, asthma deaths have increased at the same time air quality has improved.