Posted on 06/24/2009 8:04:24 AM PDT by metmom
Within minutes, six-year-old Rubjit Thindal went from happily chatting in the back seat of the car to collapsing and dying in her father's arms.
"If we had known it was so serious, we would have called 911,'' Kuldip Thindal, Rubjit's distraught mother, said in Punjabi yesterday. "She just had a stomach ache -- she wasn't even crying.''
Rubjit was pronounced dead at hospital barely 24 hours after showing signs of a fever. Later, doctors told her parents she had the H1N1 influenza virus. She is believed to be the youngest person in Canada with the virus to have died.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.guelphmercury.com ...
FDA staff note miscarriages in Glaxo vaccine data: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A proposed GlaxoSmithKline PLC vaccine.. http://bit.ly/t661f
`Canada To Offer Unadjuvanted Vaccine To Pregnant Women’ #H1N1 #Swineflu http://tinyurl.com/kq5xzm
Look up Autism. Do YOU trust the government to look out for your better interests????
Be careful!
http://hws.wsu.edu/blog/default.asp
H1N1 Flu @ WSU
We started this blog Sept. 1, 2009. We will continue to add information regularly.
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HWS Daily Update for Fri. Sept. 4
by healthycoug
We had a total of 114 patient contacts yesterday for influenza-like illness. (We had 42 phone nurse conversations; 49 patients who chose to self care after talking with a nurse; and 23 patients who were seen by providers.) We’ve been asked by the county health department to track numbers in this way to give us a better idea of how many students at WSU actually have influenza-like illness. We are following Centers for Disease Control guidelines and recommending patients with influenza-like illness self care and self isolate if appropriate. Because of this, the total number of patients who actually see ... [more]
HWS Daily Update for Thurs. Sept. 3
by healthycoug
We had a total of 185 patient contacts yesterday for influenza-like illness. (We had 72 phone nurse conversations; 53 patients who chose to self care after talking with a nurse; and 60 patients who were seen by providers.) Tracking in this manner helps us get a better idea of how many students at WSU have influenza-like symptoms and allows us to give more complete information to county health officials. These numbers have been fairly consistent since August 24, and there is no evidence to predict whether patient flow will increase or decrease. We estimate that we have been in contact with ... [more]
I’ve heard Health & Wellness Services is turning patients away. Is this true?
by healthycoug
No, absolutely not. We continue to see patients with flu and non-flu related health concerns. I think there is some confusion because we are following Centers for Disease Control guidelines in which people with influenza-like symptoms are encouraged to self care and self isolate. We are in fact encouraging all students, who are not at high risk for complications from influenza or who do not have severe symptoms, to follow CDC guidelines and to self care and self isolate. We are doing this in an effort to reduce the spread of the virus. However, if any student is unsure about their ... [more]
Just how serious is the H1N1 flu situation at WSU?
by healthycoug
We were trying to put fears to rest by saying that the majority of patients we’ve been seeing have had mild symptoms and recovered within a week. From a phone conversation with a concerned parent this afternoon, I gather that statement was less than comforting. The word “majority” has a lot of wiggle room, and people don’t know if that means 51% or 99%. To be absolutely clear, at the time of this post, I can say that out of the hundreds of patients we’ve been in contact with in the last week, not even one has been hospitalized or ... [more]
Q & A for Parents of Students in Residence Halls and Greek Housing
by healthycoug
We’ve been working with Residence Life and the Greek Community to gather some of the questions they’ve been receiving from parents. Please comment and let us know if you want more information about a specific topic. Q: What do you mean by “self isolation?”A: It basically means that people who have influenza-like illness should limit contact as much as possible with others until 24 hours after their fever is gone without the use of fever reducing medications. Students should stay home – meaning wherever they live in Pullman, in their own room, as much as possible unless they need medical care or ... [more]
Welcome to our Flu Blog
by healthycoug
Every morning at HWS, a small group of us gather to review the previous day’s flu related activities on campus. We talk daily with campus leaders to monitor the situation and to determine what steps need to be taken next. It is clear from our conversations that many of you want more info, and you want it faster and clearer. This blog is our effort to provide you with that information as quickly and as accurately as possible. To begin, we’ve pasted some of the simple answers to questions we believe to be important. We hope that through responses from our ... [more]
The Basics
by healthycoug
Q: What are the symptoms of H1N1 flu?A: The symptoms of novel H1N1 flu virus include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. A significant number of people who have been infected with this virus also have reported diarrhea and vomiting. Q: How can my child avoid getting the flu?A: There is no vaccine available right now to protect against novel H1N1 virus. However, a novel H1N1 vaccine is currently in production and may be ready by November. As always, Health & Wellness Services will offer to students the seasonal flu vaccine and ... [more]
HWS Daily Update for Wed. Sept. 2
by healthycoug
We continue to see a steady volume of patients with influenza-like illness. This is unusual at this time of year when we would typically only see a handful of patients with influenza-like illness. Fortunately, the majority of our patients have had mild symptoms and are usually better in three to five days. At this point there is no evidence to predict whether patient flow will increase or decrease. We will be open our usual Saturday hours from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. We will continue to be open extra Sunday hours ( 10 a.m. to 2:30 pm) as long as ... [more]
HWS Daily Update for Tues. Sept. 1
by healthycoug
At Health & Wellness Services (HWS), we are continuing to see a steady volume of patients with influenza-like illness. At this point there is no evidence to predict whether patient flow will increase or decrease. To accommodate student need, we were open extra hours Sunday and anticipate that we will be open again next Sunday. Based on diagnostic codes in our medical records, we saw an estimated 90 patients yesterday with influenza-like illness. Prior to yesterday, we had seen 302 patients with influenza-like illness since Monday, August 24. Health care providers in the local community have also seen WSU students with ... [more]
Father of competitor at international Calgary event dies of swine flu
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5j6dlxfd4ULIFagez3mWzZLDFMptQ
(CP) – 2 hours ago
CALGARY — A health official says a spectator from New Zealand who died of swine flu at a global trades competition in Calgary was probably infected in his homeland.
Alberta’s Chief medical health officer, Dr. Andre Corriveau, says the man was the father of a New Zealand competitor at the World Skills Competition, an event attended by more than 900 competitors from around the world.
Corriveau says the death appears to be an isolated incident and the man’s family is not showing symptoms.
He says it is possible that the man caught the illness on the plane ride over to Calgary, but officials don’t know that for sure.
Corriveau is telling competitors that there is no reason to leave the event early and that they should stay until Sunday.
He says the death is a tragic reminder of how serious influenza and H1N1 can be.
Eurosurveillance, Volume 14, Issue 35, 03 September 2009
Rapid communications
Epidemiological analysis of the influenza A(H1N1)v outbreak in Bolivia, May-August 2009
A Gianella ()1, A Walter2, R Revollo1, R Loayza1, J Vargas1, Y Roca1
1. Centro Nacional de Enfermedades Tropicales (National Center of Tropical Diseases, CENETROP), Santa Cruz, Bolivia
2. Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (Research Institute for Development, IRD), representation at La Paz, Bolivia
The outbreak of pandemic influenza (H1N1) began in Bolivia on 25 May 2009. Between May and August, the National Center of Tropical Disease (CENETROP) analysed by RT-PCR 7,060 samples of which 12.7% were positive. A preliminary analysis of the 895 confirmed cases identified between May and August 2009 describes epidemiological and clinical characteristics. After the first imported cases from the United States and Peru, the locally acquired infections predominated (90%). The number of cases was highest in the age group of 10 to 29 year-olds, and 89.6% of cases were observed in people under the age of 40 years. Fever, cough, nasal discharge and headache remained the main symptoms.
http://www.eurosurveillance.org/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=19323
http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/URItheFlu/15832
Healthy Kids Can Die from Swine Flu
By Todd Neale, Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Published: September 03, 2009
Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and
Dorothy Caputo, MA, RN, BC-ADM, CDE, Nurse Planner Earn CME/CE credit
for reading medical news
Action Points
* Explain to interested patients that the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has recommended that all children 6 months and older — as well as caretakers of younger children — receive the H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available.
Even previously healthy children can develop severe illness and die from the 2009 H1N1 influenza (swine flu) virus, the CDC said.
Of 36 confirmed deaths in patients younger than 18, eight were in children who were 5 or older and had no chronic medical conditions, according to an article in the Sept. 4 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
However, most of the children (67%) had underlying conditions that put them at risk for flu-related complications. More than 90% of these children had neurodevelopmental disorders, such as developmental delay or cerebral palsy.
The authors of the report re-emphasized the government’s recommendation that all children 6 months and older — as well as caretakers of younger children — receive the pandemic vaccine as soon as it becomes available, as stated in recent guidance from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Vaccination is also recommended for adults under 25. (See ACIP: Pregnant Women Among Top Priorities for Swine Flu Vaccine)
Vaccine is expected to be available in mid-October, CDC director Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH, said during a conference call discussing the pandemic.
He said that, as expected, cases of H1N1 infection have begun to rise with children and college students returning to school. The severity of the infections does not appear to have increased since the beginning of the outbreak in the spring, he said.
As of Aug. 8 there were 477 deaths attributed to the new H1N1 strain in the U.S., according to the MMWR report.
The median age of all fatal pediatric cases was 9 (range 2 months to 17 years), with 19% of deaths in children younger than 5.
Mortality among the youngest children was lower than that seen in recent years with seasonal influenza, according to an accompanying comment by the MMWR editors. Normally, about 40 percent of pediatric deaths caused by seasonal flu involve children under 5.
In addition, the authors said, the proportion of fatalities among children with chronic medical conditions is higher than seen with seasonal flu.
“Continued surveillance is needed to determine whether these and other differences between pediatric deaths from seasonal influenza and deaths from [new H1N1 virus] are important,” they said.
Overall, 61% of the children who died received antiviral treatment, but only four were treated within two days of illness onset.
The editors stressed that “evidence for benefits from antiviral treatment in studies of seasonal influenza is strongest when treatment is started within 48 hours of illness onset.”
Bacterial infections were common among the children who died, occurring in 43% of youngsters whose lab results were available — including all six who were older than 5 and were free from chronic medical conditions.
This suggests, according to the editors, “that bacterial infection, in combination with [infection with the pandemic virus], can result in severe disease in children who might be otherwise healthy.”
They noted that “empiric antibacterial therapy, when indicated, should be directed at likely pathogens associated with influenza, such as S. aureus, S. pneumoniae, and S. pyogene.”
They said the findings were subject to at least five limitations:
* Pandemic flu-related pediatric deaths might be underestimated because of low levels of testing and under-reporting of cases.
* Differences in case ascertainment limit the comparison of these findings with similar reports involving seasonal flu.
* Some chronic medical conditions might be under-reported because they are not listed specifically on the case report form.
* Some children could have been misclassified because of incomplete data on antiviral treatment and testing for bacteria.
* The severity of the neurodevelopmental conditions could not be determined because medical records were not reviewed.
Four more swine flu deaths confirmed in Hawaii, including first child - http://bit.ly/4olIU
CDC issues advice for battling flu in child care settings - http://bit.ly/X21NV
Swine flu advances in China - http://tinyurl.com/klkn7x
Physician treatment guidelines for administering H1N1 flu vaccine to patients with suspected egg allergy -
H1N1 flu unlikely to recombine with seasonal flu - http://tinyurl.com/km6k7g
-
OT
Study Shows Eating at the ‘Wrong’ Time of Day Could Lead to Weight Gain; Eat Late, Put on Weight? - http://bit.ly/pJwsN
2,000 sick with swine flu at Washington State University — home game with Stanford still on
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_13270103
-
Source of new flu virus on Canada farm unclear (excerpted)
The new virus, which Canadian officials announced on Tuesday and have reported to the World Health Organization, contains genes from a seasonal human H1N1 flu strain and a flu virus common in the swine population called triple reassortant H3N2.
The virus is not connected to the new H1N1 strain...”
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-SwineFlu/idUSTRE5667IC20090708
Thanks for the ping!
http://www.whale.to/a/ten12.html
Annual Number of flu deaths: it’s a guess
By Sherri Tenpenny, DO
I have received many requests for a specific reference to the following statement made in my article “The Flu Season Campaign Begins” :
“Even though less than 175 people actually died from influenza in 2003, anticipate that exponentially more messages regarding the “deadly flu” will be pushed through the news media this year.”
After weeks of intense research to locate the full source for that statement, I have unearthed some interesting and powerfully useful information.
Recapping Last Year’s Flu Season
During the 2003—2004 season, influenza activity in the United States began earlier than usual (October 2003), peaked between late November and early December, and then declined rapidly during January-February, 2004. The CDC scrambled as it was discovered that neither of the trivalent influenza vaccines used (Fluzone® or the new intranasal vaccine, FluMist®) contained the strain A/Fujian strain, the most prevalent virus in circulation. By Jan. 15, the CDC issued a press release admitting that ongoing testing showed that the year’s vaccine “was not effective or had very low effectiveness” in the test subjects. [i]
As of the week ending March 27, 2004, laboratories at the World Health Organization (WHO) and National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS) had tested 115,222 specimens and only 21.0% of the samples were found to be positive for influenza viruses. [ii] During the four most recent influenza seasons (1999-00, 2000-01, 2001-02, and 2002-03), the number of specimens that tested positive for influenza viruses ranged from 23.9 to 30.9% [iii] In other words, over the last 5 winters, 70-80% of the sniffles, fevers and body aches generally characterized as “the flu” were not caused by influenza viruses, but by organisms not covered by a vaccine, regardless of the strain that was used.
Influenza-associated pediatric deaths received considerable attention last year, prompting the CDC to request state and local health departments to report influenza-associated deaths in persons less than 18 years of age. As of May 31, 2004, 152 “influenza-associated deaths” in children had been reported by 40 states. [iv] Most of the children who died in last year’s flu season were younger than 5 years of age. Because no similarnational data were collected previously, whether this numberof pediatric deaths represents a change from previous seasons is unknown. [v]
Beginning in 2002, the Advisory Committeeon Immunization Practices (ACIP) began to recommend that all childrenaged 6-23 months and close contacts of children aged 0-23 monthsreceive annual influenza vaccination. With the increased reports of pediatric deaths in 2003, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) approved an initiative to add “all pediatric influenza-associated deaths” to the list of nationally notifiable conditions on June of 2004. [vi] This will turn out to be a boon for flu vaccine manufacturers as the media doggedly tracts and then morbidly reports this season’s statistics, placing fear in the hearts of parents who will in turn demand the flu shot for their children.
It should be noted that this initiative was undertaken after the influenza vaccine was added to the pediatric vaccination schedule, protecting the manufacturers from liability under the rules of the National Vaccine Injury Act.
Therefore, my statement that “less than 175 people who died” was technically incorrect and should have read, “less than 175 children died” in last year’s flu season. However, as few as 175 adult deaths could have occurred too. Here’s why…
Predicting 36,000 deaths
The CDC claims that influenza is “a highly contagious virus that causes an average of 36,000 deaths and 200,000 hospitalizations in the U.S. every year.” But how does the CDC determine the number of deaths related to influenza? Where is the tangible, annual report somewhere in the CDC’s database with an actual number of reported deaths among adults, such as the 152 reported deaths among children? These questions deserve answers. Upon intense investigation, I uncovered a startling truth.
The CDC receives information on influenza cases from a several different sources. During each October to May period, the CDC receives weekly reports from approximately 120 World Health Organization (WHO) and National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS) collaborating laboratories in the United States regarding influenza virus isolations. In addition, reports from several hundred “sentinel physicians” are received regarding the total number of patient visits and the number of visits for influenza-like illness (ILI). Sentinel physicians are randomly selected physicians who work in the community or for local health departments who collect nasal swabs on patients reporting flu-like symptoms. These swabs are sent to laboratories for organism identification and quantification.
A third source is the state and territorial epidemiologists who estimate the level of local influenza activity. The final source, the vital statistics offices for 122 cities across the country, report the total number of death certificates filed and the number of those in which 1) pneumonia was identified as the underlying cause of death or 2) influenza was listed anywhere on the death certificate. These reports from death certificates are filed throughout the year. From the number of positive nasal swabs and the complied data from epidemiological death certificates, the CDC “determines” the number of deaths per year from influenza. [vii]
A CDC spokesman, Mr. Curtis Allen told Insight Magazine last year,
“There are a couple problems with determining the number of deaths related to the flu because most people don’t die from influenza - they die from complications of influenza - so the numbers [of deaths] are based on mathematical formulas. We don’t know exactly how many people get the flu each year because it’s not a reportable disease and most physicians don’t do the test [nasal swab] to indicate whether [the symptoms are caused by] influenza.” [viii]
Hence, the oft-repeated “36,000 deaths nationwide” is nothing more than a computer-generated, ominous-sounding guesstimate, rather than an actual number.
NOTE: Between Oct 1, 2003 and Apr 9, 2004, the CDC identified 863 antigenically DIFFERENT influenza viruses. [ix] Therefore, even if one assumes that the flu vaccines work for the three chosen strains, it is important to understand that the vaccineswill not provide protection against the other 860 influenza viruses known to be in circulation.
Hence the CDC’s statement about the flu is correct:
Yearly, adults can average one to three and children three to six influenza-like illnesses (ILIs). The vaccine does not prevent influenza-like illnesses caused by infectious agents other than influenza [strains found in the shot], and many persons vaccinated against influenza will still get the flu. [x]
Special thanks to Mrs. Lujene Clark and Mrs. Dawn Richardson for help with this research.
CDC fact sheet. Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Studies. Jan. 15, 2004.
MMWR. Update: Influenza Activity -— United States, 2003—04 Season. April 9, 2004 / 53(13);284-287
MMWR. Surveillance for Influenza -— United States, 1997—98, 1998—99, and 1999—00 Seasons. October 25, 2002 / 51(SS07);1-10.
2003 - 04 U.S. INFLUENZA SEASON SUMMARY.
JAMA. Vol. 292, No. 12. Sept 22-29, 2004. Also MMWR. 2004;53:547-552.
JAMA. Ibid.
MMWR. Surveillance for Influenza -— United States, 1997—98, 1998—99, and 1999—00 Seasons. October 25, 2002 / 51(SS07);1-10.
Insight Magazine. Jan. 19, 2004. “Flu Secrets You Should Know”, by Kelly Patricia O’Meara
Insight Magazine. Ibid.
MMWR. November 9, 2001 / 50(44);984-6
...”During the 2003—2004 season”...”By Jan. 15, the CDC issued a press release admitting that ongoing testing showed that the year’s vaccine “was not effective or had very low effectiveness”...
..”As of the week ending March 27, 2004, laboratories at the World Health Organization (WHO) and National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS) had tested 115,222 specimens and only 21.0% of the samples were found to be positive for influenza viruses. [ii] During the four most recent influenza seasons (1999-00, 2000-01, 2001-02, and 2002-03), the number of specimens that tested positive for influenza viruses ranged from 23.9 to 30.9% [iii] In other words, over the last 5 winters, 70-80% of the sniffles, fevers and body aches generally characterized as “the flu” were not caused by influenza viruses, but by organisms not covered by a vaccine, regardless of the strain that was used.
Influenza-associated pediatric deaths received considerable attention last year, prompting the CDC to request state and local health departments to report influenza-associated deaths in persons less than 18 years of age. As of May 31, 2004, 152 “influenza-associated deaths” in children had been reported by 40 states. [iv]
Most of the children who died in last year’s flu season were younger than 5 years of age.
Because no similar national data were collected previously, whether this numberof pediatric deaths represents a change from previous seasons is unknown”...
So specimins sent 1999-2003 tested below 32% positive for influenza each season, but 98% of whatever samples now, test positive for Pandemic flu.
Largely because patient strain testing is verboten except for people that are admitted to hospital at risk of dying from Firstwave.
It’s hard to have an accurate account because they are not testing cases anymore . Some states are still testing only for patients in the hospital . New York State says they will no longer count or report swineflu deaths .
I have heard rumors that there maybe 2 different swineflu strains going around .
How many people died of pneumonia and other secondary bacterial infections brought on by the flu is what I would like to know too ....
When I was buying flowers from the florist for a party in July . The florist stated he had many orders for flowers from people in the hospital with pneumonia . The florist stated he couldn’t remember the last time he heard of so many sick with pneumonia in JULY ....
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