H1N1 flu victim collapsed on way to hospital [Latest H1N1 updates downthread]

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.

Pregnant woman with swine flu dies
Oct 15 2009

A pregnant teenage woman has died after contracting swine flu.

The 17-year-old woman, who was from the Borders, died “in the last 24 hours”, said a spokesman for Scottish Government.

A total of 106 people suffering from swine flu have now died in the UK, said Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson.

He said there had been 83 deaths in England, 15 in Scotland, four in Wales and four in Northern Ireland.
Scotland’s Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: “The death of this young mother-to-be and her baby is deeply saddening and my thoughts are with her family and friends.

“Medical experts have been telling us that pregnant women are more vulnerable to developing complications after contracting the virus. For this reason, they will be among the priority groups for vaccination when the H1N1 vaccine becomes available later this month.

“I would urge all pregnant women to get vaccinated to ensure the maximum protection for themselves and their babies.”

Meanwhile, it was announced that the swine flu vaccination programme in Scotland will start next week.

A total of 1.3 million people are in the Scottish priority groups for the first stage of the H1N1 vaccination programme, which begins on October 21.

Link is http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/national-news/2009/10/15/pregnant-woman-with-swine-flu-dies-86081-24942035/

H1N1 Attack Rate Raises Pandemic Concerns

Recombinomics Commentary 22:12
October15, 2009

Overall our average percentage of absenteeism in the district today was 15% and if you recall from our message last week the average is around 5% at this time of year. The breakdown is as follows:

High School - 7.6%
Mt. Royal Middle - 19%
Scott Ave. Elem. - 24%
Burchfield - 14%
Jeffery - 11%
Marzolf - 18%
Reserve - 12.5%
Rogers 14.5%

On Friday, the Middle School was 29% and was the school last week that started the week at 20% so it seems to be coming down which is a good sign.

The above comments from the website of a school district (Shaler) in suburban Pittsburgh, raise concerns that the H1N1 attack rate may be approaching 100% for some groups, such as middle school students. Most cases in the area (see map) are mild, and school days missed are limited because fevers generally last for only a few days. Consequently, most students only miss 1-3 days of school, so an absentee rate between 19-29% for more than 10 days suggest that more than 50% of the students were absent for 1 or more days. However, many students will not miss school because of a 3 day weekend or because they do not develop fever, so the number of infected students may be much high than 50% and may be approaching 100%.

This high attach rate is support by media reports on other schools which have peak absentee rates between 30-50%, as well as the increasing numbers of school closings. In Texas alone agency reports list 85 schools closed and high numbers have also been reported in other states such as TN and KY and additional schools are now being reported in states where the school season began more recently.

This dramatic spread has happened prior to widespread vaccinations, and signal efficient transmission, which may be blunted by an aggressive vaccination program. However, only a small percentage of ordered doses have been shipped and it is likely that significant transmission will happen prior to vaccination. Most of these cases have been mild, and data from the clinical trial in Australian suggest that mild cases can produce modest immune responses which are increased by the vaccine.

However, this high attack rate raises concerns of re-infection of mild cases as well as the evolution of virus which produces reduced titers to the current vaccine as was noted in the week 37 CDC report.

More detail on the number of student infected in a single outbreak and the level of antibody in the milder cases would be useful.

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/10150901/H1N1_Attack.html

Irwin man makes 32 H1N1 deaths in GA

Posted: Oct 15, 2009 5:15 PM EDT
Updated: Oct 15, 2009 5:20 PM EDT

ALBANY, GA (WALB) - An Irwin County man has died as a result of the H1N1 virus. That’s the 32nd death in Georgia, and a fifth have been in southwest Georgia. Health officials say the 50-year-old man did have an underlying medical condition, true in nearly all southwest Georgia deaths.

Health officials are not reporting every flu death, and there may be more deaths in southwest Georgia than you realize.

Health officials say keeping the flu at bay is all about preventative measures and that includes good hygiene practices and getting your seasonal and H1N1 flu shot. Phoebe is the first to get the H1N1 shot vaccine and with 5,300 doses they’ve got enough to cover employees and patients.

The H1N1 Flu is taking a death toll here in South Georgia. The Irwin County man died Tuesday at Tift Regional Medical Center. In August and September a Thomasville man in his 30’s, a 64 year old Lee County man, a 71 year old Dougherty County man, a 40 year old Columbus woman and a 50 year old Muscogee County man all died from the flu.

Some deaths weren’t reported as flu deaths because of a change in the way the numbers were counted.

“Once the way the CDC changed the way we report influenza hospitalizations and influenza deaths that in fact retrospectively we added a third death,” said Southwest Georgia Health District Director Dr. Jacqueline Grant.

Health officials says it’s their policy not to report flu deaths, with 40 percent of flu hospitalizations are people without underlying conditions they have stressed the importance of doing what you can to prevent the flu from affecting you.

“We can not over emphasize everything that we say over and over again about washing your hands with soap and water, using an alcohol based hand sanitizer, covering your coughs,” said Grant.

The first shipment of 5300 doses of the H1N1 shot vaccine arrived at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital this week and will go to health care providers first.

“We’ll be dealing with health care providers first, nurses, tech, therapists and people who are dealing with the patients up close and personal, the physicians on the medical staff and then we’ll expand from those direct care providers to those in the patient care areas and then out to the general employee,” said PPMH Chief Medical Officer Dr. Doug Patten.

Then to patients. Health officials hope as more shot vaccine arrives in southwest Georgia, more people will get vaccinated, potentially preventing future deaths.

“Every death, every one is a tragedy,” Grant said.

Health officials warn while we’re in what seems like a downward trend of flu cases, you shouldn’t think the flu has passed us by. We’re just at the beginning of flu season and a second wave is expected, that’s why health officials encourage everyone to check with their doctor to see if they’ve received the vaccine and then to get the shot.

http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=11322638

Swine flu: Chief medical officer admits concern at spike in critical cases• Number of new diagnoses rises 50% in a week• Postal strike may delay patients’ access to vaccine

Owen Bowcott and Severin Carrell guardian.co.uk, Thursday 15 October 2009 21.35 BST Article history

More than 100 people have died from swine flu and intensive care beds are filling up with victims, the government’s chief medical officer revealed today.

A sharp rise in the proportion of hospital patients needing critical care is a matter “of some concern”, Sir Liam Donaldson admitted as he unveiled the national vaccination programme due to start next week.

High-risk patients and frontline health workers in hospitals will be the first to be inoculated from 21 October. More than 4m doses of Pandemrix will be delivered to GP surgeries the following week so that patients in priority groups can be given protective injections.

A national postal strike could disrupt the process severely, Donaldson warned, saying it could prevent doctors from sending out letters to vulnerable patients to invite them in for vaccination.

“We are worried about the postal strike,” the chief medical officer said. “GPs need to send letters out to patients. [A strike] would be an extremely unwelcome piece of timing. We need to get people into GPs’ surgeries to give them this life-saving vaccine.”

There were about 27,000 new cases of swine flu last week, an increase on the 18,000 new cases in the previous week. There have now been 106 deaths in the UK connected to the virus: 83 in England, 15 in Scotland, four in Wales and four in Northern Ireland.

Two of the latest people to die were pregnant women, a group emerging as a particularly at risk in the outbreak.

David Salisbury, director of immunisation at the Department of Health, dismissed fears that the “adjuvants” – material added to the vaccine to boost the body’s immune response – would harm pregnant women.

The Pandemrix vaccine, he said, would provide virtually immediate immunity and guard against a broader spectrum of flu viruses.

Freshly issued advice from the World Health Organisation today confirmed that “the GSK [Pandemrix] vaccine has been licensed for use in pregnant women in Europe as of September 2009”. Salisbury promised, however, to review the data.

There are 364 people in British hospitals with H1N1 swine flu, of whom 74 are in intensive care. “This is the highest proportion [of hospital patients] needing critical care since this all began,” Donaldson said. “Most of the time it’s been around 12% or 13%. Now it’s up to 20%.

“We are seeing more serious cases than before but no sign of any change in the virus. This is giving me some concern. There’s a school of thought that when a flu virus is operating in the summer it’s milder than when it’s operating in the flu season without a change in the virus.
summer
“We don’t understand why. We are doing a more detailed study of hospital patients,” Donaldson said.

The Ministry of Defence announced that 15,000 doses of the vaccine would be delivered to the 9,000 UK troops serving in Afghanistan.

“We can’t afford to have soldiers off with flu if we can prevent that,” said an MoD spokesman.

No cases have yet been reported among servicemen there. The Department of Health is reviewing whether any other groups should be deemed high-risk categories and given early vaccinations against swine flu.

Among the latest deaths was a pregnant teenager from southern Scotland, whose unborn child also died. The 17-year-old was being treated in a hospital in the Borders region.

Her death was the latest in a series in Scotland: four deaths were reported in one 48-hour period earlier this week.

Health officials in Wales said that a pregnant woman, aged 21, from Monmouthshire, died in intensive care after a planned caesarean section. Three deaths were reported in Wales in 24 hours. Six pregnant women have now died from the virus in the UK.

Another pregnant woman who contracted the virus, Sharon Pentleton, has given birth to a son at Crosshouse hospital in Kilmarnock. In July, when she was six months pregnant, she was airlifted from Ayrshire for highly specialised treatment in Sweden which oxygenated her blood outside her body.

Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish health secretary, yesterday urged pregnant women to take the new H1N1 vaccine to ensure they had “maximum protection” for themselves and their babies.

Vaccination schedule

• 21 October 415,000 doses of the vaccine Pandremix will be given to high-risk patients in hospitals and to frontline health workers.

• Week beginning 26 October 4.4 million doses of Pandremix to be delivered to GPs. Doctors will inoculate patients in priority groups – such as those with compromised immune systems and pregnant women.

• At the same time 236,500 doses of Pandremix and 49,200 doses of another vaccine, Celvapan, will be sent to NHS primary care trusts.

• The World Health Organisation has backed the use of Pandremix for pregnant women despite claims ingredients have not been sufficiently tested on expectant mothers-to-be

Link is http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/15/swine-flu-critical-cases-rise

Huntsville-developed H1N1 test receives FDA authorization

Posted: Oct 15, 2009 5:14 PM EDT
Updated: Oct 15, 2009 5:47 PM EDT

HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) - The FDA gave its approval to a faster test for identifying the H1N1 virus developed in Huntsville. The virus was developed in Huntsville?

Dr. Jian Han of the HudsonAlpha Institute developed the test.

The FDA has given it Emergency Use Authorization.

Basically what that means is that the FDA has vouched for the validity of the test and has approved it for use during this declared pandemic.

This is significant because approving a new test or drug can take years.

Tucked behind the walls of the HudsonAlpha Institute in Huntsville lies a little company called Diatherix, a little company doing big things.

Dennis Grimaud is chairman and CEO of Diatherix, the lab that produces the H1N1-09 Influenza test developed by Dr. Jian Han.

The test is known for its quick results and was given Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA on Friday.

“For us, what that really does is validates our testing through the FDA,” Grimaud said.

Samples come into this lab from across the United States and once they’re here, doctors usually get those results back that very same day.

“In our hands, from the sample receipt to actual results, is somewhere between four and five hours,” Grimaud said.

It also tests for 26 other viruses and infections along with H1N1 flu, with just one test, giving doctors valuable information and saving patients’ time and money.

“Turning the test around quickly is very important for a patient to be stabilized and for a physician to be able to properly treat them,” Grimaud said.

The workload at the lab has been so overwhelming that the company has tripled its workforce in the past month.

The FDA has given this test authorization through April 2010. If we are still in a declared pandemic at that time, then the authorization will be renewed.

http://www.waff.com/Global/story.asp?S=11322620

Our View: Do the math, and get vaccinated

By: Abel Gustafson, Budgeteer News

After six long months of H1N1 (swine flu) pandemonium, we finally have a vaccine (for the flu, not the pandemonium). Ironically, now that the vaccine is finally here, many are afraid to use it because — get this — they fear it might make you sick.

To be fair, there are understandably a couple reasons why some might be reluctant: One being the side effects of the vaccine during the 1976 swine flu scare; and the other being the chemical contents of a preservative it contains. However, when examined a little more closely, we find that neither of these concerns should deter you from vaccination.

In 1976, the first discovered swine flu case was an Army recruit at Fort Dix in New Jersey. Of the 218 million American citizens living then, 240 contracted swine flu, 13 were hospitalized and exactly one person died (that first soldier). All 240 cases were at Fort Dix. Nevertheless, we promptly overreacted.

Of the 43 million Americans subsequently vaccinated, there were 500 cases in which the vaccine was linked to Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), a neuromuscular disorder that can induce temporary paralysis. Twenty-five people died from complications. It is ironic to note that by raw numbers (not percentage), the vaccine killed more people than the disease did.

This year’s vaccine is not the same vaccine as the one given in 1976. In fact, it’s a different virus, hence the name occasionally used by the Minnesota Department of Health: H1N1 novel influenza. This year’s H1N1 vaccine has not been shown to have any causal relationship to GBS. (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its partners have several systems in place to monitor vaccine safety/adverse reactions.)

What is more, we are not dealing with 240 cases of the flu. As of Oct. 4, 2009, the World Health Organization reported 375,000 lab-confirmed cases of H1N1 across the world, low because many countries have stopped counting. The reported death total is 4,500 worldwide. Do the math and you’ll find you have infinitely greater chances of suffering health problems should you not get vaccinated than of experiencing side effects from the vaccine.

One of the most publicized vaccination fears is that thimerosal, a preservative in some of the vaccines, contains a mercury compound. Although true, the Food and Drug Administration has specifically stated that this minute amount of mercury in vaccines — less than a hundredth of 1 percent — is not harmful.

Even if you think the FDA is wrong, thimerosal remains a non-issue. The CDC announced that manufacturers expect to produce at least 50 million doses of various thimerosal-free versions of the H1N1 vaccine, available either in nasal spray or standard injection.

So there really are only two reasons left for anyone to not get vaccinated. The first is if you are simply unequivocally opposed to vaccinations, whether seasonal or swine. The second is if you have an egg allergy. Strange as it may sound, flu vaccines are grown in fertilized chicken eggs.

The H1N1 vaccine should be viewed no differently than the annual seasonal flu vaccine. It is tested, it is safe and it can protect you and your loved ones from the H1N1 flu. Hopefully, they have someone working on a vaccine for the pandemonium too.

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/149200/group/Opinion/

Acetaminophen May Weaken Effectiveness of Kids’ Vaccines

THURSDAY, Oct. 15 (HealthDay News) — Fever after a vaccination is a normal and essential part of building an immune response, and giving children acetaminophen — best known in the U.S. as Tylenol — after a shot could dampen that response, a new study finds.

With some vaccines, transient fever means that a child’s immune system is processing the immunization, providing them with the best protection, explained Dr. Robert T. Chen, a blood safety specialist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Therefore, “unless your doctor specifically recommends it, do not administer fever-reducing medicines at the same time as vaccination to prevent your child from developing a fever,” said Chen, who wrote an editorial accompanying a report in the Oct. 17 issue of The Lancet.

“It is still okay to use antipyretics [acetaminophen or ibuprofen] to treat a fever, but just not recommended to prevent fever,” he added. “High fevers can be serious, especially in infants. It is important to work with your doctor to provide the best care for your child.”

For the study, a research team led by Dr. Roman Prymula, from the University of Defence in Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic, did two studies, one when children received their first vaccination and another when they received their booster shot.

The vaccinations were routine for protection against pneumococcal disease, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B, polio and rotavirus.

The 459 infants in the studies were randomly assigned to get acetaminophen every six to eight hours for 24 hours after vaccination or no acetaminophen.

Prymula’s team found that fewer infants who received acetaminophen had a fever, but these babies also had significantly fewer antibodies against pneumococcal disease, Haemophilus influenzae type b, diphtheria and tetanus toxoids, and for one of the whooping cough antibodies compared with infants who did not get acetaminophen.

They believe the pain reliever’s anti-inflammatory activity might trigger “interference” to healthy immune system antibody responses, explaining the weakened immunization.

“Unless there are specific reasons for controlling fever, for example, in a child with history of febrile convulsions, Tylenol and other fever reducers should not be routinely given along with immunizations,” Chen said.

Infectious disease expert Dr. Marc Siegel, an associate professor of medicine at New York University School of Medicine in New York City, said that “the conclusion that Tylenol not only suppresses fever, but also decreases immune response is plausible. After all, what is an immune response? It’s an inflammatory response.”

Siegel agrees that acetaminophen should not be routinely given to infants to prevent fever after vaccination. “But, if the kid is sick, treat the sickness. If the kid is very sick, I would get the fever down,” he said.

And what about the vaccine for the H1N1 flu? According to Siegel, “giving an infant Tylenol before an H1N1 flu vaccine shot may not be a problem, because the immune response to the vaccine has been so robust.”

http://www.ajc.com/health/content/shared-auto/healthnews/fevr/632025.html

Flu returns to Kremmling school with a vegeance - CO
Thursday, October 15, 2009

By Reid Armstrong
Sky-Hi Daily News
Grand County, Colorado

In the last three days, more than 60 students from the West Grand PK-8 building have been absent due to illness, according to superintendent Kevin Chalfant. The majority of those absences have been related to the H1N1 flu virus.

“This appears to be a second outbreak,” said Chalfant.

The virus initially started spreading around the West Grand school district early in the school year after a volleyball team visited Glenwood Springs, said District nurse aide Pam Music during a school board meeting Oct. 14.

Things quieted down after the initial outbreak but, “Last Thursday and this week our numbers have spiked, with teachers and staff getting the flu as well,” Chalfant said.

About 20 percent of the lower school was sick in recent days, with the second grade being hardest hit. Only six students out of 32 were in attendance, Chalfant said, and one of the teachers was out too.

[snip]

http://www.skyhidailynews.com/article/20091015/MISC09/910159995/1079&ParentProfile=1067

Lawsuit seeks to halt US swine flu vaccination campaign
Thursday, 15 October 2009

New York medical staff took legal action Thursday to halt a massive swine flu inoculation program being rolled out across the United States, claiming the vaccines have not been properly tested.

Lawyers for the group filed a temporary restraining order in a Washington federal court against government medical regulators they claim rushed H1N1 vaccines to the public without adequately testing their safety and efficacy.

“None of the vaccines against H1N1 have been properly tested,” attorney Jim Turner, one of half a dozen lawyers working on the case, told AFP.

The suit was brought on behalf of a group of doctors, nurses and other medical personnel in New York, where health care professionals who see patients are required to be vaccinated against H1N1, Turner said.

If the complaint is upheld, it would stop the roll-out of the H1N1 vaccine nationwide, said Turner, who accused public health officials of hyping the swine flu outbreak but failing to back up their stance with adequate testing of the vaccine.

“Officials have said the virus is so much like the ordinary flu virus that they don’t need to do special new drug testing on it because it’s just the same old virus with a minor change to it,” said Turner.

“We’re saying, if that’s the case, then all the hype about this thing being a worldwide threat is misplaced and they’ve stampeded the state of New York into taking an action they never would have taken if it were just another flu.” In other words, the CDC’s words are coming back to bite them on the backside

Last week, some 2.4 million doses of nasal spray vaccine made of greatly weakened, but live, H1N1 virus were delivered to state and local health authorities around the United States.

This week, even larger stocks of injectable vaccine were delivered and administered to people in groups deemed to be at particular risk from swine flu, including children and health care professionals.

US public health officials want to vaccinate tens of millions of Americans by year’s end against swine flu, which has claimed more than 4,500 lives worldwide since an outbreak of H1N1 was first reported in Mexico in April

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/lawsuit-seeks-to-halt-us-swine-flu-vaccination-campaign-1803697.html

Cleveland: Flu slam dunks Cavaliers

CLEVELAND — The entire Cleveland Cavaliers team is being treated for flu as a precaution after six players reported flu like symptoms. Of that group, three players have tested positive for Influenza A, including superstar LeBron James.

H1N1 or swine flu is a strain of Influenza A. The team says the players are being treated proactively as if they have the H1N1 virus although test results are not back.

Besides James the players which tested positive for Influenza A are guard Coby Karl and forward Darnell Jackson.
In addition, guard Andre Barrett, forward Jawad Williams, and forward J.J. Hickson have presented with flu-like symptoms.

The Cavaliers are scheduled to travel to San Antonio for a match-up against the Spurs Friday Night. James is expected to make the trip and is listed as probable for the game.

The team is under the care of Cleveland Clinic doctors.
James told reporters that the illness forced him to spend an entire day in bed resting. He says he couldn’t remember the last time he was sick.

James missed the Cavs pre-season game Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena.

In addition to James, Karl, Jackson and Williams will make the road trip to Texas.

Barrett and Hickson will stay behind in Cleveland.

H1N1 taking a toll on hospital staff

Updated: Thursday, 15 Oct 2009, 6:41 PM EDT
Published : Thursday, 15 Oct 2009, 6:41 PM EDT

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Hospitals around the state are experiencing a higher absenteeism among their employees, because of H1N1.

Community, St. Francis, and St. Vincent all say the flu has affected their staff. Methodist is experiencing the same trend.

And in an interview that 24-Hour News 8 did just minutes ago outside the emergency room, their head of infectious disease said they are beginning to rely on extra pools of employees to help out.

“They’re either calling in because they’re ill themselves or they’ve got children themselves who are ill. So again, we’ve had contingency plans in place for having health care workers who are sick, and so we have resource pools we can draw upon to backfill the staff,” said Dr. Doug Webb of Methodist Hospital.

When asked if the staff at Methodist was short right now?

Dr. Webb responded, “We’re not short but I would anticipate that uh that this is going to get worse for the next few weeks.”

All hospitals 24-Hour News 8 spoke to on Thursday say they expect more sick calls as the flu continues to spread.

http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/health/H1N1_taking_a_toll_on_hospital_staff_20091015

WA:

King County Man Dies From H1N1 Flu

Posted: 5:12 pm PDT October 15, 2009
http://www.kirotv.com/news/21310662/detail.html

SEATTLE — A man in his 20s died Wednesday from complication of H1N1 influenza (swine flu) and his underlying health conditions, said Public Health of Seattle and King County.

The man’s death is the first reported H1N1 death in King County this fall.

“Flu activity is increasing locally, and this tragedy is a reminder that H1N1 influenza can be a very serious illness and that people with underlying health conditions are at higher risk for severe complications and death,” said Dr. David Fleming, Director and Health Officer for Public Health.

Fleming said the vaccine is the best protection and small shipments of the vaccine are arriving for at-risk patients. More doses will be arriving weekly to immunize a wider group of people.

The vaccine is initially being prioritized to protect people most at risk for H1N1 influenza, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The priority groups include:

- Pregnant women
- People who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age
- People between the ages of 6 months and 24 years old
- People between 25 through 64 years of age with chronic health conditions or weakened immune systems
- Healthcare and emergency workers

Vaccine availability will be opened up to everyone who wants it as soon as supplies are sufficient to cover demand in risk groups.

In King County from April 25 to Oct. 2, there have been 82 hospitalizations of patients with H1N1 influenza. Nearly 1 in 4 required intensive care, and 3 of the 82 patients died.

Three Spokane County residents have also recently died from complications linked to Influenza A, and health officials say they are likely victims of the swine flu.

The dead include a man in his 40s, a woman in her 40s and a woman in her 60s. None of three had any known underlying health problems.

Canada:

Swine flu claims 8th B.C. victim

Last Updated: Thursday, October 15, 2009 | 5:18 PM PT
CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/10/15/bc-swine-flu-death-ashley-miller.html

(CBC)The B.C. Centre for Disease Control has confirmed that a woman from the city of Mission is the province’s latest swine flu fatality.

The centre has declined to identify the victim of the H1N1 virus, but CBC New has learned she was Ashley Miller, 26, who died Sunday, two days after she was admitted to Abbotsford Regional Hospital.

Miller is the eighth B.C. resident to die from swine flu.

Authorities from the centre and the Fraser Health Authority are investigating Miller’s medical history to determine if she had any underlying conditions that could have contributed to her death, according the centre spokesman Roy Wadia.

The previous seven swine flu victims in B.C. all had underlying medical conditions, according to the centre.

H1N1 flu vaccine fears fueled over airwaves

Friday, October 16, 2009
Sonny Bunch
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/16/h1n1-flu-vaccine-fears-fueled-over-airwaves/

Interviewing former Senate majority leader and famed surgeon Bill Frist recently for his HBO talk show, “Real Time With Bill Maher,” the host declared, “I would never get a swine flu vaccine or any vaccine.”

Mr. Maher, recently honored with the Richard Dawkins Award as the figure in the arts and media who, among other things, best “advocates increased scientific knowledge,” refused to be swayed by Dr. Frist’s assurances — reflecting the professional medical consensus — that the vaccine is safe and effective.

Mr. Maher is not alone. Over the past few weeks, several prominent talk-show hosts from across the political spectrum have stoked public anxiety about the swine flu vaccine.

Rush Limbaugh was defiant on his Oct. 7 show, demanding, “How are they going to make me take it if I refuse to take it?”

Glenn Beck was slightly more circumspect, saying on his Sept. 30 program that “you don’t know if this is gonna cause neurological damage.”

Similar fears about the vaccine have led the Department of Health and Human Services to create a Web site countering myths and rumors about the swine flu virus with facts.

“I think the one thing that is worrisome is that those who are critical of vaccination often do not base their opinions on sound scientific information,” says Tom Skinner, the senior public affairs officer at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “At the end of the day, we simply want people to base their decisions on credible information. The best antidote for fear is information.”

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a neurosurgeon and CNN medical reporter, agrees.

“There are two things that are sort of at play here in terms of people’s resistance regarding the vaccine,” he said. “One is the concern that they haven’t done enough safety studies and two that [this flu] isn’t a big deal.”

Dr. Gupta, author of the new book “Cheating Death” and host of its companion documentary, “Another Day: Cheating Death,” says he seeks to acknowledge legitimate concerns without fueling unfounded fears.

Though Dr. Gupta declined to speculate about the motivations of other media professionals who have struck out against the vaccine, he said he accepts “a responsibility as a medical doctor who’s also a reporter to report the best science that I can find and make a case at the end of it for all people.”

Mr. Maher couched his criticism of the vaccine in terms of a broader right-left alliance suspicious of government meddling in health care.

“On this question, I think I would probably be more with conservatives,” Mr. Maher avowed to Dr. Frist. “Conservatives always say … ‘They’re going to screw everything up. So why would you let them be the ones to stick a disease into your arm?’”

Tevi Troy, deputy secretary of health and human services in the Bush administration and visiting senior fellow at the conservative Hudson Institute, took issue with this characterization.

“I would say, perhaps, you can’t trust the government for the administration of health care, and that’s why I’m concerned about the public option,” said Mr. Troy, “but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t very good scientists at the CDC, at the [Food and Drug Administration], at the [National Institutes of Health] who help us develop cures and who help us plan our public health care responses to bioevents.”

Mr. Troy worries about the sphere of public health devolving into a partisan battleground. “It seems like there’s Republican information and Democratic information, and I think that’s what leads to some of these controversies” over health care, he says. “There’s a sense that it’s not some career official at a public health service telling you this, but it’s the Obama administration telling you this.”

Mr. Limbaugh’s response to calls from Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to get vaccinated illustrate Mr. Troy’s concerns about partisanship coloring public health discussions.

Calling out the secretary by name, the conservative broadcasting icon thundered over the airwaves: “I am not going to take it, precisely because you’re now telling me I must. It’s not your role, it’s not your responsibility, and you do not have that power. I don’t want to take your vaccine.”

What’s needed, Mr. Troy argues, is a bracketing off of technical medical questions relating to public health from more debatable policy differences. He’d like to see, he says, public officials assume a “kind of responsibility to declare these areas a no-fighting or neutrality zone, say we’re not going to fight partisan politics about swine flu, that we’re going to say this is the right thing to do and press forward from there.”

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