Posted on 11/15/2007 12:07:57 PM PST by steve86
ATLANTA (AP) - A mutated version of a common cold virus has caused 10 deaths in the last 18 months, U.S. health officials said Thursday.
Adenoviruses usually cause respiratory infections that aren't considered lethal. But a new variant has caused at least 140 illnesses in New York, Oregon, Washington and Texas, according to a report issued Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The illness made headlines in Texas earlier this year, when a so- called boot camp flu sickened hundreds at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. The most serious cases were blamed on the emerging virus and one 19-year-old trainee died.
"What really got people's attention is these are healthy young adults landing in the hospital and, in some cases, the ICU," said Dr. John Su, an infectious diseases investigator with the CDC.
There are more than 50 distinct types of adenoviruses tied to human illnesses. They are one cause of the common cold, and also trigger pneumonia and bronchitis. Severe illnesses are more likely in people with weaker immune systems.
Some adenoviruses have also been blamed for gastroenteritis, conjunctivitis and cystitis.
There are no good antiviral medications for adenoviruses. Patients usually are treated with aspirin, liquids and bed rest.
In the CDC report, the earliest case of the mutated virus was found in an infant girl in New York City, who died last year. The child seemed healthy right after birth, but then became dehydrated and lost appetite. She died 12 days after she was born.
Tests found that she been infected with a form of adenovirus, called Ad14, but with some little differences, Su said.
It's not clear how the changes made it more lethal, said Linda Gooding, an Emory University researcher who specializes in adenoviruses.
Earlier this year, hundreds of trainees at Lackland became ill with respiratory infections. Tests showed a variety of adenoviruses in the trainees, but at least 106—and probably more—had the mutated form of Ad14, including five who ended up in an intensive care unit
In April, Oregon health officials learned of a cluster of cases at a Portland-area hospital. They ultimately counted 31 cases, including seven who died with severe pneumonia. The next month, Washington state officials reported four hospitalized patients had the same mutated virus. One, who also had AIDS, died.
The Ad14 form of adenovirus was first identified in 1955. In 1969, it was blamed for a rash of illnesses in military recruits stationed in Europe, but it's been detected rarely since then. But it seems to growing more common. The strain accounted for 6 percent of adenovirus samples collected in 22 medical facilities in 2006, while none was seen the previous two years, according to a study published this month in the medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
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On the Net:
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr
I've found that a good way to get a crowd's attention is to say "everyone in this room is going to die." Then, over the stunned silence, I say, "but not today, and probably not soon." Then I move on to the message. At that point, everyone is facing front.
Whenever something -- smoking, firearms, cholesterol, pollution, driving like an idiot -- is cited as a cause of "preventable death," I get annoyed. There are no preventable deaths. Just postponable. Ad te omnis caro veniet.
You can research just about ANY pathogenic micro-organism, and find at least a handful of cases whereby it caused serious harm or death. I agree; it’s the MSM trying to stir up people into thinking that this is going to be an epidemic. As Rush says, this is the type of story that “sells”.
Great post.
I would like to add if as in the early days when the Dr. came to the home.....folks learn good home health care the hospitals would be free to care for ICU and trauma level care patients.
One thing that ticks me off is the lack of education to patients for home health care.
In the past there was fantastic nurse to patient education.
I had a Doc ask me why so many of his stoma patients have infections or skin break down at the site and I told him if they were educated on how to care for the site properly upon discharge he would not be dealing with that.
Nope now a days they get a computer print out instruction sheet of vague care.
They touched on that and the bubonic plague a bit on a History channel documentary but I am leary about what is fact or fiction with the History channel productions.
The seem to mingle fact with fiction.
So thanks for the book info.
You know what would be cool?
Home sputem and blood tests.
Like the diabetic BG home tests.
Not an answer to seeing the doc and doing lab work but a way to bridge the gap.
By the way does anyone know if those purple light wands that are supposed to kill bacteria work?
They look awfully small from what I can tell in the catalogs and way to expensive.
In all these years here I have not come across many of your posts but you are hitting the nail on the head on this thread.
I like that attention getter you use wonder if that would work for our biology teacher friends at the high school at least once anyway.
You are probably referring to UV light. At the right frequencies and high enough intensity it will indeed kill most bacteria (and viruses) exposed to it. Won’t kill bacteria in the shadow of anything, though. And there are problems with ozone production and damage to eyes at certain frequencies.
If bacteria and viruses weren’t somewhat resistant to UV the sun would have killed them all ages ago.
Perhaps the “Boy in the Bubble” mentality is part of the problem. We try to go so far out of our way to make our environment sterile, that it doesn’t allow our immune systems to fully develop.
I don't know about that. It might push some gloomy goth kids over the edge. I prefer to use with audiences over 25 or so -- not teenagers, who still think they're immortal.
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