Posted on 01/06/2018 8:11:57 AM PST by BenLurkin
So many people have fallen sick with influenza in California that pharmacies have run out of flu medicines, emergency rooms are packed, and the death toll is rising higher than in previous years. Health officials said Friday that 27 people younger than 65 have died of the flu in California since October, compared with three at the same time last year.
Nationwide and in California, flu activity spiked sharply in late December and continues to grow.
The emergency room at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica typically treats about 140 patients a day, but at least one day this week had more than 200 patients — mostly because of the flu, said the ER’s medical director, Dr. Wally Ghurabi.
...
The flu season is typically worst around February, but can reach its height anytime from October to April.
Though influenza had only only killed three Californians at this time last year, it had taken 68 lives by the end of February, according to state data.
Many California doctors, however, contend that the recent surge has been unusually severe.
“Rates of influenza are even exceeding last year, and last year was one of the worst flu seasons in the last decade,” said Dr. Randy Bergen, clinical lead of the flu vaccine program for Kaiser Permanente in Northern California.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
That was true of the 1918-1919 “Spanish Flu” epidemic, a cytokine storm. But with most other influenza viruses, it is a secondary infection of either a secondary viral or more likely a secondary bacterial pneumonia that is responsible for most of the flu related deaths and those at the greatest risk are the very young, the very old and people with compromised immune systems like cancer patients and people who have autoimmune diseases, but pneumonia can also kill younger and healthier people if not caught and treated in time.
Sure the flu does kill some directly, but not always directly unless we are talking about an epidemic like the Spanish Flu.
The Spanish Flu killed the most people who were in young adulthood rather than the very young or very old or sickly. And it killed them in many cases very quickly. While WWI was raging the flu pandemic was under reported, but according to some first person accounts from the time a young person could wake up early in the morning and feel fine but by mid-day get sick and the very next day they were dead. There was not any time for any secondary infection in those case, the flu and the cytokine storm, a hyper immune response to the virus is what killed them.
I recall reading an article about just how bad the Spanish Flu was in Philadelphia that was especially hard hit. The funeral homes couldn’t keep up with all the deaths and ran out of coffins.
“Rates of influenza are even exceeding last year, and last year was one of the worst flu seasons in the last decade,”
I practice in a university health clinic. Last February we saw more cases than the previous 9 Februarys combines.
There are hand sanitizer dispensers outside every exam room. I use them. The stuff is nice because it doesn’t turn my skin into parchment. This year I was old enough (66) to get the high potency vaccine.
Other than that rest, nutrition, vitamins, fluids. I figure that after 42 years in the business and no serious infections ever I must have developed a pretty robust immune system ;-)
Chelated zinc, as high a dose of vitamin C as tolerated, and metabolites from consuming Cranberry products can’t hurt.
All those viruses brought in by undocumented illegal aliens? They have taken a toll. One of my friends who teaches English to them under a federal grant program in Chicago nearly died when she contracted a virus from them, and now must rely on steroids to have a life.
California politicians who refuse federal authority should be jailed or worse.
While I do think that some viral and bacterial infections come into the US via illegal aliens and also unvaccinated US citizens who travel abroad and come home and bring back diseases like Measles.
https://www.dailynews.com/2015/02/04/disneyland-measles-outbreak-dwarfed-by-2014s-in-ohios-amish-country/
But influenza is not one of them. Influenza has been around and has killed many millions long before illegal immigrants to the US started arriving.
http://www.influenzavirusnet.com/history-of-influenza.html
You could stop all illegals from coming into the country but would still have influenza outbreaks.
Flu is transmitted by poor hygiene habits. Adults who do not wash their hands spread the flu.
US vaccines are not directed to strains of flu expected to occur in 3rd world shitholes.
Centralize these flu people with the hep-A tent people in San Diego. Awesome! Isn’t third world living cool?
I asked. Got the quad. Hope it works. Only time I’ve ever been hospitalized for an illness was with complications from the flu. Got a strain they didn’t vaccinate for that year. That one was really nasty, too.
Here’s another question for anyone: If a hospital is filling up with flu patients, will unvaccinated patients be discharged sooner than they might otherwise be due to their unvaccinated status? I’ve been wondering about that.
The vaccine is dead so you can’t get the flu from it
Exactly. Calexit asap, please.
Hmmm, we just in the last few years had a Sprouts open across the street from Kroger. I find myself using Sprouts much more simply because it’s so compact. I don’t have to walk past aisles and aisles of stuff I don’t buy, or don’t buy at a grocery store.
You just gave me another good reason to favor Sprouts, as Kroger has a pharmacy inside.
No. While frequent hand washing can help, influenza is spread by infected people sneezing and coughing and no amount of of good hygiene or hand washing will stop it as long as enough infected persons are spreading it.
Coughing and sneezing into towels, hands or sleeves reduces the spread of the virus by 90%. Then washing hands completes the task. Low life persons who sneeze and expel lung contents and spittle need to be counseled.
I won’t be around children or lowlifes until the risk has lifted.
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