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aurora

Joined: 08 Dec 2006
Posts: 2912
Location: U.S.
Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 11:25 pm Post subject:

There are 12 new deaths from the News Thread going onto my spreadsheet today. These are new deaths for which patient identifying information is available.

2 California
1 Indiana
1 Michigan
1 New York
1 Ohio
4 Pennsylvania
1 South Carolina
1 Washington
_________________
“We know what you know, and we know when you knew it”

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miker

Joined: 20 May 2009
Posts: 761
Location: Gatineau/Ottawa, Canada
Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 11:30 pm Post subject:

Canada H1N1 deaths summary Dec 1:

British Columbia: 6
Quebec: 5
Newfoundland and Labrador: 7

Confirmed Provincial/Territorial total: 343 (14 more than Dec 1. PHAC total of 329)
Incidence of death: 343 / 33.862 million = 10.13 per million population.

British Columbia: 42
Alberta: 57
Saskatchewan: 12
Manitoba: 9
Ontario: 97
Quebec: 94
New Brunswick: 7
Nova Scotia: 6
Prince Edward Island: 0
Newfoundland and Labrador: 15
Yukon: 2
Northwest Territories: 1
Nunavut: 1

:

http://www.singtomeohmuse.com/viewforum.php?f=1

identification of the Calhoun County, Florida death previously reported on 11/11/09....

H1N1 claims Altha man

Posted by Kelli Peacock Dunnin News
Thursday, November 12. 2009
Comments (0)

Marcus Dale Whiddon, 25, passed away Friday at Bay Medical Center. According to the Calhoun County Health Department, he died of complications from the H1N1 virus.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of this very unfortunate individual,” says Dr. Eugene Charbonneau, Health Department Administrator.

According to Dr. Charbonneau, it is believed that Whiddon, who owned and operated Gulf Coast Construction, contracted the virus while in Duval County. “He came back and went to Jackson County Hospital and ended up on a ventilator about a month ago,” Dr. Charbonneau remarks. “He was moved to Bay Medical after his kidneys failed.”

Many people would think the elderly would be more susceptible to fatalities from H1N1, but Dr. Charbonneau says the opposite is true. “We’re not as worried with seniors, because in their long lives they’ve probably acquired a virus similar to H1N1 and developed antibodies which help them fight it,” he explains.

In a young healthy person who hasn’t encountered a similar virus, their immune system tries to attack H1N1 on it’s own with a vengeance. Dr. Charbonneau compared it to a military attack - you go in to kill the enemy, but wipe out a lot of good stuff in the process. And when your system is recovering after the attack, complications can develop.

“[Whiddon] was a strong, husky guy and he had a strong, husky immune system and that’s ultimately what will kill people with this,” says Dr. Charbonneau.

Whiddon leaves behind his wife, Cassie Bates Whiddon, and young son, Triton Whiddon, of Altha. His complete obituary appears on page 10 of this issue.

http://www.thecountyrecord.net/archives/483-H1N1-claims-Altha-man.html

HT - Bird Flu Information Corner

Padang, West Sumatera ::: Duck farmer suspected to contract bird flu

http://padang-today.com/?today=news&id=11542

Padang, West Sumatera – A resident of Tanjuang Durian, Nagari Baru Kecamatan Bayang Kabupaten Pesisir Selatan, Dasrizal (37), suspected to contract bird flu virus and admitted to M Djamil hospital.

Patient is a duck farmer, and raising hundreds of ducks. He is reported to have found almost of all his ducks suddenly died. Subsequent to the finding, he burried the dead ducks. He developed high fever at noon of the same day, and his family gave him antipyretic drug, a kind of paracetamol.

Dafrizal’s fever was getting higher in the afternoon and his family brought him to Pasa Baru public health center in the evening. Public health center was then referred Dafrizal to M Zein Painan hospital, where he was diagnosed as bird flu suspect. Patient was transferred to M Djamil hospital to receive better treatment as bird flu suspect patient.

a new suspected death via obituary in Chautauqua County New York...

Caroline J. Siliano, 55, of 5052 Kortwright Road, Ashville, N.Y., died unexpectedly Monday morning, Nov. 30, 2009, at the Warren General Hospital emergency room after suffering from flu-like symptoms.

She was born Dec. 13, 1953, in Ogdensburg, N.Y., to the late James D. and Marie LaLonde Burns.

She has resided in Ashville, N.Y. for the past 26 years and was a former resident of Warren, Pa. She was a 1972 graduate of Warren High School, and was employed for the past 14 years with Sam’s Club of Jamestown, N.Y., as a inventory control manager.

She was known by her family as a devoted wife and mother who enjoyed crocheting and loved all of her animals.

She is survived by her husband, Gerald D. Siliano of Ashville, N.Y., one daughter, Amanda B. Siliano-Scheller and hus-band, James of Jamestown, N.Y.; one son, Josh N. Siliano of Ashville, N.Y.; her mother-in-law, Dorothy Hansen Siliano. a resident of the Rouse Warren Co. Home, Youngsville, Pa.; five siblings: Celeste Burns and husband, Richard Sex-auer of Wellsboro, Pa., Patrick Burns and wife, Sandy of Pittsburgh, Pa., Jessie Wolfe and husband, Thomas of Williamsport, Pa., Juliet Sherer and husband, Bill of Spring Run, Pa., James D. Burns Jr. of Mechanicsburg, Pa. Several nieces and nephews also survive.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a son, Matthew Siliano; her father-in-law, Leonard J. Siliano who died Oct. 16, 2009.

http://post-journal.com/page/content.detail/id/546075.html?nav=5009

a new death in Colleton County, South Carolina....

Vaccine urged for asthma patients
Walterboro man’s grieving family wants to warn others

By David Quick
The Post and Courier
Tuesday, December 1, 2009

The family of a man who died Sunday from complications caused by swine flu is urging people — especially those with asthma — to remain vigilant against the virus and get vaccinated.

Warren Craig Crosby, 54, of Walterboro died from pneumonia after suffering from the H1N1 virus, family members said.

Crosby, who had asthma, fell ill Nov. 2 with what doctors first diagnosed as bronchitis. But as the month progressed, his illness worsened and he ended up at Medical University Hospital, where efforts to keep him alive failed.

“He and I were best buds,” said Crosby’s brother Miles Crosby, a former local TV and radio personality. “It’s been a horrific past month. It was like being in a nightmare that you don’t wake up from.”

Crosby said his brother was over the flu three or four days before his death but that the damage had been done.

The local office of the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control would not comment on the death or whether it was the first death attributed to the H1N1 virus in the Charleston area.

Local DHEC Public Information Director Linda Pranger said that the state has authorized only statewide reports and that 36 people in South Carolina have died from complications of the flu from Sept. 1 to Nov. 21.

“They (DHEC officials) are keeping track of all those numbers in Columbia,” Pranger said. “Our direction is to give out statewide numbers. ... I don’t know (the specific reason), but I think it’s because the numbers are so low. There’s not a reason for people to need to know.”

The Post and Courier has submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for the detailed numbers.

Christopher Crosby, a son of Warren Craig Crosby, said the family is in shock because his father, other than the asthma and a problematic back, was healthy and enjoyed an active life. He particularly liked to go hunting.

“It (his death) happened so quickly,” said Christopher, a 32-year-old public safety officer for the city of Walterboro.

He said his father received a seasonal flu shot but didn’t get an H1N1 vaccination because it wasn’t readily available before his illness.

“Everyone needs to get the swine flu shot,” he said.

It’s a personal message that has been stressed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in recent months.

In October, the federal agency reported that asthma sufferers are the hardest hit by H1N1. A report noted that while asthma occurs in 8 percent of the U.S. population, 32 percent of those hospitalized for H1N1 had asthma. On Nov. 19, the centers posted another report saying: “Everyone with asthma who is ages 6 months through 64 years should get the 2009 H1N1 flu shot when it becomes available.”

Pranger said that people with chronic illnesses, such as asthma, are among the risk groups that are given priority for H1N1 vaccines and that the local office has received a total of 44,900 vaccines and administered 16,000 doses.

“We have plenty of vaccine for all those in risk groups,” she said, “and they should call and make an appointment.”

H1N1 clinics

The local office of the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control has ample H1N1 swine flu vaccines for those who are in high-risk groups — pregnant women, caregivers for babies younger than 6 months of age, people ages 6 months to 24 years, health care workers and people ages 25 through 64 with chronic illness.

Call 953-0090 between 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday to make an appointment. For now, vaccines are only for high-risk groups.

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/dec/01/vaccine-urged-for-asthma-patients/

a new death via obituary in Ross County, Ohio...

Thomas E. Doles, Jr

CHILLICOTHE: The Lord called Tommy home on November 29, 2009 after an extended illness from the H1N1 Flu.

He was born on February 18, 1961 in Chillicothe, Ohio. Tommy was the first born of Thomas E. Doles, Sr. and Janice E. (Deacon Doles) Laking.

He left behind his beloved wife, Stephanie (Williams) Doles; his children, Heidi, Tyler, Jennifer, Autumn and Thomas; two grandchildren, CJ Gonzales and Kayleigh Doles; also surviving are his mother and father; his step-mother, Patty; two brothers, Dan (Carolyn) Doles and Mark (Deanna) Doles; his grandmother, Dorothy Mick; an aunt, Deloris (Deacon) Bessegato; step sisters, Brenda and Tammy; and step brothers, Don and Mark; and several nieces and nephews.

[snip]

http://www.chillicothegazette.com/article/20091201/OBITUARIES/912010308

a suspected new pediatric death in Fayette County, Pennsylvania....

Dec 1, 2009 5:52 pm US/Eastern

Possible H1N1 Death Investigated In Uniontown

UNIONTOWN (KDKA)An investigation is underway to determine if a baby in Fayette County died as a result of H1N1 last week.

The baby’s mother found her unresponsive Friday afternoon and rushed her to Uniontown Hospital.

The little girl later died.

“It’s just awful I mean, you know,” Willie Swaney, of Uniontown, said. “I feel bad for the family and everything like that. Her life hadn’t even begun yet – she was just a baby.”

Police were called to the hospital.

“At this time, the death is still under investigation with a preliminary cause of death being the pneumonia,” Uniontown Police Chief Jason Cox said.

Tests are now underway to determine of the baby had the H1N1 virus.

At the Fayette County Health Center, H1N1 vaccines are being offered to people most susceptible to the virus.

So far, there have been three H1N1 deaths confirmed in Fayette County.

Stay With KDKA.com For More Details

http://kdka.com/health/h1n1.death.uniontown.2.1343274.html

Pennsylvania:

(3) more fatalities have been added to the PA DOH website for 12.01.09 that have not been in news reports.
They are for:Crawford (1), Delaware (1), and Montgomery (1) counties.

PA DOH: http://www.h1n1inpa.com/newsroom/pa-situation-update/
ToTAL Per PA DOH: 52

Czechs threatened by bird flu vaccine.

19/02/2009 03:14:27

“Some Czechs were threatened by infection of H5N1 bird flu virus from a vaccine developed by the Austrian pharmaceutical company Baxter that was tested on ferrets. The vaccine was tested by the company in Konarovice, Czech Republic, from early January and the research was permitted by the Industry and Trade Ministry, said Czech chief sanitary officer Michael Vit. “Suddenly the ferrets started dying and so the research stopped on February 6.”

The Czech veterinary authority revealed that the ferrets got infected with the lethal bird flu virus. “All the ferrets had to be liquidated and the company had to be closed,” said the authority’s spokesman Josef Duben. Reports state that all 13 people who got into contact with the ferrets immediately received the Tamiflu drug and underwent tests. “Fortunately, none of them got infected,” Vit said.

Reports state that the Baxter company admitted that the mistake occurred in Austria and that it sent infected vaccines to the Czech Republic. “

http://www.farminguk.com/PopularNews/Czech-Republic-Bird-Flu._11753.html

( Canada child flu death numbers compared to last year )

http://www.vancouversun.com/health/H1N1+putting+more+children+hospital+than+seasonal+variety/2268189/story.html

H1N1 flu putting more children in hospital than seasonal variety

Number of hospitalizations is ‘much larger than anything we’ve ever seen before,’ doctor says

By Sharon Kirkey, Canwest News Service
November 26, 2009

Since October, 526 H1N1-related hospitalizations were reported by 12 pediatric teaching hospitals across Canada that together represent almost 90 per cent of all tertiary care pediatric beds in the country.

During the week of Nov. 7 alone, 264 children were in hospitals — about half the total number of Canadian children hospitalized during last year’s entire flu season, and three to four times as many flu-related admissions during any week since the network began collecting data five years ago.

At the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa, as of Wednesday, 108 children had been admitted with laboratory-confirmed H1N1 since the beginning of the second wave of H1N1 in early October. That compares to 40 children admitted during the entire 2007-08 flu season, and 37 children admitted during the 2006-07 flu season.

In the first wave of pandemic H1N1 this spring, 32 children were admitted to CHEO with confirmed H1N1.

“Children across Canada are being hospitalized in very large numbers for influenza this year, much larger than anything we’ve ever seen before,” says Dr. Wendy Vaudry, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University of Alberta in Edmonton and co-principal investigator of IMPACT, an immunization monitoring program administered by the Canadian Paediatric Society and funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada. “It is causing significant illness in children all across Canada.”

Vaudry, a mother of four, said vaccination is the best way to protect children against H1N1. “If I were a parent hearing this, I’d walk out this afternoon and go to your closest clinic and get your baby immunized,” she said.

It is not yet known how many children admitted to hospital during the second wave have required intensive care. Normally, about 15 per cent of children admitted with flu end up in intensive care. It is also not yet known how many of them had underlying health conditions.

Usually the majority of flu admissions in children are in children under age two. But older children are being hospitalized with H1N1. “We’re seeing more children in the two to five, and five to nine age groups than we usually do in a normal flu season,” Vaudry says.

Federal officials said Wednesday that while the number of H1N1 cases is “levelling off” in some parts of the country, the peak of the second wave has not yet been reached. And they warned Canadians about becoming complacent.

Cheetah and Turkeys in US Test Positive for H1N1

Tuesday December 1, 2009
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) are reporting that a cheetah in a California zoo and a flock of turkeys in Virginia have tested positive for the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus. (See USDA confirmed cases PDF.)

Cheetah in California
Confirmatory tests are pending for the cheetah case. This is the first case reported in a cheetah, but not the first feline case, as reported earlier.

Turkey Flock in Virginia
The USDA has confirmed the H1N1 virus finding in the Virginia turkeys. A worker sick with flu-like symptoms is thought to be the source of the infection in this flock. This the first case in the United States, but not in the world. The H1N1 virus was confirmed in turkeys in Chile in August 2009.

Dogs and H1N1
There has been a couple news reports of 2 positive canine cases of H1N1 in China, but the reports have been sparse and the AVMA has been unable to confirm the reports or find additional information at this time.

The message is the same
While it is distressing to hear of new species infected with the H1N1 virus, the message to not panic remains. The animal infections are thought to have occurred from virus transmission from humans TO animals, not the other way around.

Good personal hygiene, environmental sanitation, covering coughs, isolating sick individuals and seeing the doctor when sick are your best defenses against influenza viruses.

http://vetmedicine.about.com/b/2009/12/01/cheetah-and-turkeys-in-us-test-positive-for-h1n1.htm

Canada

Woman, 40, dies after brief illness

Posted By MICHAEL PURVIS, SAULT STAR
Posted 11 hours ago

Taunya Richardson will miss Rita De Marco’s laugh, and her smile, but most of all, she’ll miss her 40-year-old friend’s singing voice.

“She would be one of the first people to call and she would sing Happy Birthday to me every year,” said Richardson, a close friend of the elementary school teacher. “She never forgot, and she always sang.”

De Marco died unexpectedly Friday from what family members described as a week-long illness that started out as the flu.

Counsellors and school board officials were at St. Bernadette Catholic school Monday to help students and staff cope with the Grade 4 teacher’s death.

John Stadnyk, director of education for the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board, said students were emotional.

“The parents of the class were contacted (Sunday), so I think the parents talked with the children and we had several of the parents here this morning with the kids,” said Stadnyk.

He said the board’s pastoral response team, met with staff at the school on Sunday.

De Marco was a “happy, outgoing and boisterous,” woman who returned to school later in life to fulfill her dream of being a teacher, said her sister, Maria Caputo.

De Marco had no children and never married, but “loved being around kids,” said Caputo. “All of her students were like her children and every year she got a new batch.”

Caputo said her sister, who lived with and cared for her elderly parents, fell ill with the flu about eight days before her death. She was admitted to Sault Area Hospital’s intensive care unit on Nov. 21 with pneumonia.

“It was supposed to be just 48 hours, but she didn’t come out of it,” said Caputo. “Finally her heart just couldn’t take it anymore.”

http://www.saultstar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2200541

MN

Obituary: Alex Werner, 31

Posted: Tuesday, December 1, 2009 1:23 pm

Alexander James Werner, age 31, of Minneapolis, and formerly of Northfield, died suddenly and unexpectedly Thursday, Nov. 26, 2009, at his home in Minneapolis. Alex died of complications from pneumonia.

http://www.northfieldnews.com/news.php?viewStory=50677

Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) update for Tues. Dec. 1.

Shows 20 new H1N1 deaths since Thurs. but I’m only counting the 7 Newfoundland deaths from this update (in addition to the 6 BC deaths reported above).

The 7 Newfoundland deaths resolves the issue of whether deaths that are not directly associated with H1N1 are to be reported by provinces and counted in Canada by PHAC.

They ARE to be reported and counted. I.E. someone with a confirmed H1N1 that dies from some other cause IS counted as an H1N1 death. I’d presume the other cause could include pneumonia, but it’s still not clear if it could include cancer or something bizarre such as electrocution, either in the hospital, or at home or elsewhere.

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/alert-alerte/h1n1/surveillance-eng.php

Bi-weekly and cumulative number of deaths due to Pandemic (H1N1) 2009, by province/territory, Canada, as of December 1, 2009, 11h00 EDT Deaths
Province / Territory New Deaths reported
(from November 26, 2009 to
December 1, 2009, 11h00 EDT) Cumulative
British Columbia 6 42
Alberta 0 51
Saskatchewan 0 12
Manitoba 0 9
Ontario 0 95
Quebec 6 89
New Brunswick 0 6
Nova Scotia 1 6
Prince Edward Island 0 0
Newfoundland and Labrador 7 15
Yukon 0 2
Northwest Territories 0 1
Nunavut 0 1
Total 20 329

CA

Two SD deaths linked to swine flu

By Staff, City News Service

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

The deaths of two more people in San Diego County have been linked to the swine flu outbreak, health officials announced Tuesday.

The latest victims were a 57-year-old man with no underlying medical conditions and a 65-year-old woman with underlying medical conditions, according to the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency.

Both tested positive for H1N1, but the virus might not be the cause of death, the HHSA reported.

So far, there have been 47 deaths in San Diego County linked to the H1N1 influenza, according to the HHSA. Forty of the victims were from San Diego County and seven were visiting the area.

Locally, 673 people have been hospitalized with the virus, according to the HHSA.

County health officials also announced that they have received an additional shipment of the H1N1 vaccine.

Each of the county’s seven public health centers has received 1,000 doses of the injectable version of the vaccine and 500 doses of the nasal spray vaccine, according to the HHSA. An additional 23,000 doses will be used for school vaccination clinics.

The vaccine is being distributed to those at the highest risk of complications from the H1N1 influenza including children and young adults, adults with chronic medical conditions, health care workers and those in households with infants under 6 months.

Read more: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-12-01/local-county-news/two-sd-deaths-linked-to-swine-flu#ixzz0YTpdqA8P

Quebec, Canada.

5 new deaths.

http://www.msss.gouv.qc.ca/extranet/pandemie/etat_situation/#surveillance

Mise à jour : 1er décembre 2009 (données en date du 1er décembre 2009, 12 h).
Nombre de cas1 de grippe A (H1N1) hospitalisés,
selon la date de déclaration et le niveau de soins du patient, province de Québec, depuis le 30 août 2009 Type de cas Depuis le 30 novembre, 12 h Depuis les 7 derniers jours Depuis le 30 août 2009
Nombre de cas hospitalisés2 35 180 2385
Nombre total de cas aux soins intensifs3
12 32 334
- Sans conditions sous-jacentes4 3 7 55
Nombre total de décès5 5 12 68
- Sans conditions sous-jacentes4 0 1 2

British Columbia, Canada.

6 new deaths. The other 2 were counted last Thursday.

Eight more deaths in B.C. from Swine Flu
http://www.vancouverite.com/2009/12/01/eight-more-deaths-in-b-c-from-swine-flu/

Eight more people have died from Swine Flu to take B.C.’s death toll from the novel virus to 42, the provincial health ministry announced Tuesday.

93 new severe cases of H1N1 infection have been hospitalized despite indications that the second, more dangerous wave of Swine Flu has crested.

957 people have been hospitalized in B.C. so far, with about one-third of those being children and youths under 19. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says children continue to be the ones who experience the most hospitalizations.

Two of the new deaths were reported in interior health, four in Fraser Health and two on Vancouver Island.

The ministry of health issued the following tally of hospitalizations and deaths.

o 346 in Fraser Health, including 17 deaths.

o 206 in Interior Health, including nine deaths.

o 43 in Northern Health, including one death.

o 243 in Vancouver Coastal Health, including seven deaths.

o 119 on Vancouver Island, including eight deaths.

Of the 42 who have died, 37 had medical conditions that were likely to complicate the impact of Swine Flu. Four of the dead did not have underlying condition. One case is under inv

Commentary

Fit Hong Kong Tamiflu Resistant H1N1 Is a Mixture

Recombinomics Commentary 19:54
December 1, 2009
http://www.recombinomics.com/News/12010901/H274Y_HK_SF_Mix.html

Estimation of 274H and 274Y populations in the NPA specimen was performed by cloning and sequencing PCR products. The NPA specimen contained approximately equal proportions of 274Y and 274H (52.63% and 47.37%, respectively).

The above comments are from an upcoming EID paper on the swine H1N1 with H274Y isolated in Hong Kong from a San Francisco traveler. Since the patient was not taking Tamiflu, the detection of H274Y was an example of an evolutionarily fit H1N1 with H274Y. However, the paper indicates that the sequence was from the virus passaged in MDCK cells and the sequence had a minor peak representing the wild type sequence. The above quote describes the result of cloning from the original samples, which indicated the two populations were present in proportions that were almost equal.

The detection of H274Y in a San Francisco traveler who had not received anti-viral treatment led to a survey of samples in California which failed to detect H274Y. However, earlier and subsequent data strongly suggested that H274Y was circulating as a mixture because brief treatment with prophylactic or therapeutic Tamiflu led to frequent detection of H274Y.

The transmission of evolutionarily fit H274Y was further supported by the recent release of multiple sequences with H274Y at GISAID by the CDC. One of the isolates, A/Tennessee/17/2009 has HA and NA markers which match the Hong Kong ex-San Francisco sequence strongly suggesting that this sub-clade with H274Y is transmitting in the United States.

The transmission of swine H1N1 with h274Y allows for the jumping of one genetic background to another via homologous recombination, as was seen for H274Y in seasonal H1N1. The recent clusters of H274Y in Wales, Scotland, and two outbreaks in North Carolina, suggest that examples of H274Y on various swine H1N1 genetic backgrounds will become increasingly common and will likely lead to fixing in swine H1N1 as happened for seasonal H1N1.

2 New Swine Flu Deaths Reported In Miss.

Swine Flu Vaccines Available To Residents
POSTED: 2:33 pm CST December 1, 2009
UPDATED: 2:43 pm CST December 1, 2009

JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi health officials reported two new swine flu deaths Tuesday, bringing the state’s total to 13 deaths and 1,272 cases.

The new deaths were reported in Marion and Stone counties, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health.

The swine flu nasal mist vaccine is available at county health departments for all healthy residents from 2 years to 49 years old.

[snip]

http://www.wapt.com/health/21775626/detail.html

WI

Oneida County Reports First H1N1 Death Submitted: 12/01/2009

ONEIDA COUNTY - Oneida County is reporting its first H1N1-related death Tuesday. According to Health Department Director Linda Conlon, the department is not releasing any more information regarding the person’s name, age, race or location at this time.

Conlon says out of respect for the family and patient privacy laws, that information is confidential.

She adds for most people the H1N1 flu is not severe, but it can be especially dangerous for kids or adults with compromised immune systems or people living with a chronic illness.

Conlon adds the department should be getting more H1N1 vaccine in the next few weeks.
She says its a good idea for people in the high-risk groups get vaccinated.

To find out if you are in the high-risk group, you can log onto the Oneida County Health Department’s website. Conlon says eventually everyone who wants to get vaccinated for the H1N1 flu will be able to once the vaccine supply gets replenished.

http://www.wjfw.com/stories.html?sku=20091201145313

MI

Accuracy of rapid flu tests questioned

Video at link

Updated at 03:24 PM today

UNDATED — (12/01/09) — Some doctors are using rapid tests to check children for H1N1 flu. Sometimes, those tests don’t tell the whole story - with dangerous consequences.

Medical tests are supposed to help people, but this rapid flu test may have hurt nine-year-old Hayli Murphy.

Julie Murphy, Hayli Murphy’s mother: She was right there. She was on death’s door.

Back in September, Hayli first started showing signs of the flu, so her mother, Julie Murphy, took her to the emergency room.

Reporter: When you brought Hayli into the emergency room the first time, they did a test and they told you she doesn’t have the flu.

Julie Murphy: She’s fine. She doesn’t have the flu. She’s got a virus, high fevers. Take her home.

But at home, Hayli’s temperature climbed to 104 degrees. The next day, her mother took her back to the E-R, where again, the rapid test said she did not have the flu.

Reporter: You expect when a test says negative, that it’s negative.

Julie Murphy: That it’s negative, yeah

Reporter: Well, what did you find out?

Julie Murphy: I found out different.

The next day, Hayli was so sick her mother had to carry her into the emergency room. Hayli spent the next six weeks in intensive care, where doctors used a different, more reliable test. As it turns out, Hayli did have H1N1.

The test that was used on Hayli Murphy twice missed her flu. It’s relatively inexpensive and it’s wrong a lot.

Reporter: When these tests say you don’t have the flu, how often are they wrong?

Dr. Rhonda Medows, Georgia Dep’t. of Community Health: Anywhere from 90 to 30 percent of the time.

Dr. Medows warns doctors in her state not to use rapid flu tests because they’re wrong so often. “I’m telling them they don’t really need them. They need to focus more on their clinical exam. I don’t see the value.”

We contacted three big makers of rapid flu tests used in the United States. One gave us a statement.

The company BD said, “As with other rapid tests, doctors should be aware that a negative result does not fully exclude the possibility that the patient has influenza. Following a negative rapid test, physicians have the option to proceed to more advanced tests.”

Dr Roberto Monge was one of the first doctors who treated Hayli in Fort Myers, Florida.

Reporter: Twice Hayli received this rapid flu test and twice it was wrong.”

Dr. Monge: This test is not as good as we would like it to be.

Reporter: Do you think in Hayli’s case this test might have misled the doctors?

Dr. Monge: No, I don’t think so. This was handled very well.

Monge says doctors did not rely only on the rapid test, but also on a physical exam and their best judgment. All of which led them to believe she did not have H1N1.

Reporter: If you had listened to those tests.

Julie Murphy: Hayli would have been dead within the next 24 hours.

(Copyright ©2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=news/health&id=7147447

PA

Chester County woman with H1N1 dies

Published: Tuesday, December 1, 2009

By ERIC S. SMITH, Special to the Times

The H1N1 virus, known as swine flu, has claimed its first life in Chester County, according to county health officials.

A female county resident died in a Philadelphia hospital last week due to complications with the H1N1 virus, said county Public Information Officer Rebecca Brain. The victim had multiple underlying health issues, Brain said, but no other information — including her name, age and address — could be provided because of hospital-patient privacy laws.

The state Department of Health Web site reports there have been 49 H1N1 deaths across the state, but this is the first in the county. The county has had 340 confirmed cases of the swine flu, and there have been 10,499 confirmed cases statewide.

The county Health Department provided more than 5,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine last week to county residents but has since suspended vaccinations after using up its allotment.

According to the department’s Web site, inventory of the vaccine is being taken statewide and it may become available again to health clinics soon.

Residents are encouraged to visit the Web site www.chesco.org/health for updates. Residents can also sign up for e-mail updates from the health department on its Web site.

The county had been handing out the vaccine to residents classified as Tier 1 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tier 1 people are considered most at risk by the CDC.

The CDC classifies Tier 1 people as pregnant women, caregivers of children younger than 6 months of age, health care and emergency medical services personnel, people 6 months through 24 years old, and people age 25 to 64 who have underlying health conditions, such as cancer and weakened immune systems, who are associated with a higher risk of medical complications from influenza, county officials said.

The health deparetment has not said whether the next batch of vaccines will be available to just Tier 1 residents or open to all residents.

County health officials said people should take the following steps to prevent the spread of H1N1:

http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2009/12/01/news/doc4b151ea68e598211934438.txt

( Very Very Weird Flu Story )

IL

Family had the flu, not carbon monoxide leak

By Jo Ann Hustis - jhustis@morrisdailyherald.com

COAL CITY — A sickened family of five was evacuated after an apparently faulty meter indicated carbon monoxide poisoning inside their home.

“All the family’s signs and symptoms were consistent with carbon monoxide poisoning, which the meter indicated also,” Coal City Fire Chief Harold Holsinger said Monday of the late Saturday incident.

“But evidently, the meter was lying to us.”

Further investigation with a second meter did not reveal carbon monoxide in the dwelling. Nor did an investigation by Nicor, which was called to the scene.

Investigators searched the whole house, but could not find a source for the incident.

“The five in the family didn’t feel good, though, and one was pretty sick,” Holsinger said. “One member was transported to Morris Hospital and two others to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Joliet. The other two refused medical assistance.”

Holsinger said carbon monoxide levels in the blood of those treated indicated the source of their illness was not carbon monoxide.

“As the whole thing wound down, it doesn’t appear to have been carbon monoxide poisoning,” he said. “Their signs and symptoms pretty well indicated it was flu, and then the meter lied to us.”

He did not release the name nor address of the family.

http://www.morrisdailyherald.com/articles/2009/12/01/06232728/index.xml

Health officials to review disaster plan

Tue Dec 1, 2009 1:16pm EST
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE5B03OM20091201?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews&rpc=401&sp=true

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Stung by the continuing struggle to make a vaccine against the swine flu pandemic, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on Tuesday her department would review its approach to disaster preparedness.

The goal, Sebelius said, will be streamlined regulations that will speed the approval of new technologies that are promoted through government contracts with private companies.

The administration of President Barack Obama has been worried that H1N1 flu would be the equivalent of Hurricane Katrina — the 2005 disaster that flooded New Orleans, left much of the city still devastated and was seen as a failure of his predecessor George W. Bush’s presidency.

Sebelius said about 70 million swine flu vaccine doses are available or have been ordered and administered — far short of the goal which was to have all priority groups vaccinated by this week, a total of 160 million people.

A large part of the problem has come from difficulties making the vaccine using 1950s era egg-based technology.

“There are gaps at every stage in the process, from labor to factory floor, that are stalling our development of key countermeasures,” Sebelius told a meeting of the American Medical Association.

“We don’t know what’s coming — the next public health emergency we face could be much worse.”

Polish official requests investigation into gov’t refusal to import swine flu vaccines
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5i5EMJ3KHjK1xlfLpgJE0QxvgTmkQ

Poland’s ombudsman has asked prosecutors to investigate the government for refusing to import swine flu vaccines, calling it an “unacceptable” failure that endangers public health.

Janusz Kochanowski, the country’s top official for defending civil rights, said he requested the investigation Tuesday. Prosecutors must now carry out preliminary fact-finding. They will decide later whether to open a full investigation.

The government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk has refused to import swine flu vaccines because of what it says is the refusal of producers to take responsibility for possible side effects.

So far, there have been 1,158 confirmed cases of swine flu in Poland and 24 deaths. Most of those who died had other underlying health conditions.

NM sees higher swine flu deaths among Indians

Associated Press - December 1, 2009 11:45 AM ET
http://www.kvia.com/Global/story.asp?S=11598897

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Swine flu is killing American Indians in New Mexico at a higher rate than other ethnic groups.

A top state Department of Health official says chronic disease and the distance many Indians have to travel to medical care could be part of the reason.

Indians make up 10 percent of New Mexico’s population, but 20 percent of the state’s swine flu deaths.

Deputy state epidemiologist Mike Landen says it’s not just a statistical fluke.

He says Indians have higher rates of diabetes in New Mexico.

He says they also have higher poverty rates, and throughout the West they tend to live farther away from medical care.

Landen says those factors may be possible explanations for the death rate.

New Mexico has reported 40 swine flu deaths, eight among Indians.

Second H1N1 Death Reported in Muskegon County
The victim was a 58-year-old man at Great Lakes Specialty Hospital.
Robb Westaby FOX 17 News Web Producer
November 23, 2009

http://www.fox17online.com/news/fox17-second-h1n1-death-in-muskegon-county,0,7601487.story

MUSKEGON COUNTY - Public Health - Muskegon County, the county’s health department, reported the death of a second person who had contracted the H1N1 flu virus.

The victim was a 58-year-old man, said a release from the department. The death occurred at Great Lakes Specialty Hospital, but the day the death occurred was not released, nor whether the death was a direct result of the flu virus.

The first flu death in the county was a 43-year-old woman at Mercy Health Partners’ Hackley Campus. Deatrice Walls-Hunter, whose death was posted 11/23. Busy day for Muskegon County.

A cluster of human swine influenza cases at Kowloon Hospital (China)
http://7thspace.com/headlines/327298/a_cluster_of_human_swine_influenza_cases_at_kowloon_hospital.html

Hong Kong (HKSAR) - The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority: The spokesperson for Kowloon Hospital (KH) issued the following announcement today (December 1): From November 29 to today, six patients (aged 21 to 51) and one staff member of a male ward in KH have presented with fever (38?C or above) or flu symptoms. Viral tests were arranged for them and three patients were subsequently confirmed with Human Swine Influenza. The six patients are being treated under isolation and prescribed with Tamiflu.

All patients are in stable condition. The concerned staff member is in stable condition after treatment and on sick leave. Infection control measures of the concerned ward have already been stepped up.

Admission and visiting to the ward has been suspended. Patients’ relatives have been informed about the situation. All other patients and the staff in the ward are under close surveillance.

The cases have been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and the Centre for Health Protection for follow up.

Source: HKSAR Government

Published on: 2009-12-01

MI

http://www.detnews.com/article/20091201/LIFESTYLE03/912010380

Last Updated: December 01. 2009 1:00AM
State to offer H1N1 shots to allFree swine flu vaccines likely to be available within 2 weeks

Kim Kozlowski / The Detroit News
Health officials statewide soon will offer free H1N1 vaccine to all residents — possibly in the next two weeks — reversing a national trend of giving it only to those deemed at high risk of contracting the virus.

Second H1N1 flu-related death reported in Muskegon County (Michigan)
http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2009/12/second_h1n1_flu-related_death.html
December 01, 2009

A second person from Muskegon County has died from complications of the H1N1 flu virus.

According to a news release, local health officials were notified of the 58-year-old man’s death on Monday.

No further information was immediately available.

This marks the second H1N1-related death in Muskegon County in less than two weeks.

On Nov. 20, Deatrice Walls-Hunter, 43, of Muskegon Heights, died from complications of the illness. Family and friends said Walls-Hunter suffered several other chronic health problems, including sleep apnea, high blood sugar and respiratory congestion.

Breathing problems are what initially put her in the hospital, family said.

Health officials are strongly recommending the H1N1 vaccine for those who are pregnant, care for children, work in health care or emergency medical services, or who have chronic health problems.

Further information on the flu virus is available at www.muskegonhealth.net or by calling 2-1-1.

TX:

Girl’s death brings Houston swine flu toll to 11

Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
Dec. 1, 2009, 9:07AM
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6746772.html

The city of Houston has reported its 11th swine flu death.

According to health officials, a girl between the ages of 5 and 9 died Nov. 17 from the H1N1 flu virus. She is the fifth victim who was under 20 years old, although one of those — the area’s first death — actually was a Mexican child brought here in April.

Between the city and Harris County, there have been 25 swine flu deaths reported this year. All but three have occurred since the beginning of September.

Death toll rises to 195 in H1N1 flu

Published: 12/1/2009
http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=347062

In the past one month, the number of death cases has increased in Turkey as it happens in the world.

69 of 195 death cases of pandemic H1N1 virus were mostly below 50 years of age, and mostly from Ankara, Istanbul and Konya.

Taking this into consideration, Turkish Health Ministry has extended the age group. People with chronic diseases, health officials and healthy people from 6-months to 50 years of age will be included in the vaccination program as of Wednesday.

Some occupational groups like fire brigades and those working for order and security services, electricity, water and natural gas problems, transport and communication services will be vaccinated regardless of age.

Health care centers, family physician centers and hospitals vaccine requesters for free.

HHS to review policies for developing new vaccines

By Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 1, 2009; 9:42 AM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/01/AR2009120101288.html?hpid=topnews

A top Obama administration official, citing the problems with the swine flu vaccination campaign, announced plans Tuesday for a major review of the federal government’s policies for developing new vaccines and other public health defenses.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said she had ordered the review because the swine flu vaccine shortage had highlighted the nation’s dependence on antiquated technology.

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