CDC: 3,900 Americans Dead From H1N1 in Six Months

H1N1 swine flu killed an estimated 3,900 Americans from April to October, U.S. health officials said Thursday.

Better estimates show that the pandemic of flu has infected an estimated 22 million Americans and put 98,000 in the hospital, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Of these totals, children account for 8 million of the infected, 36,000 of those in hospital and 540 deaths.

http://www.in.gov/itpc/files/smoking...uenza_itpc.pdf
Smoking identified as a risk factor for
epidemic A(h1n1) influenza over 25 years ago!
An outbreak of A(H1N1) influenza was studied in an
Israeli military unit of 336 healthy young men in 1982
to determine the relation of cigarette smoking to the
incidence of influenza. Half of the men were smokers.
68.5% of smokers had influenza, as compared with
47% of nonsmokers. Influenza was also more severe
in the smokers; 51% of the smokers lost work days or
required bed rest, or both, as compared with 30% of
the nonsmokers.
A quarter of all severe illness from influenza in the
overall study population was attributable to smoking.
Researchers concluded that smoking is a major
determinant of disease in epidemic influenza and may
contribute substantially to incapacitation in outbreaks
in populations that smoke heavily.
.....
There IS a connection…
• Research shows an increase in influenza (flu) infections
among smokers compared to nonsmokers.
• Influenza cases are often more severe in smokers, and
there is a higher mortality rate for smokers than
nonsmokers from influenza.
• Smoking is causally related to chronic coughing and
wheezing, bronchitis and emphysema in adults.
• Smokers contract upper and lower respiratory tract
infections more frequently than nonsmokers.
• Inhaling secondhand smoke also makes lungs more
susceptible to respiratory infections and illness.
• Children and infants exposed to secondhand smoke in the
home have dramatically higher levels of respiratory
symptoms, respiratory tract infections, and slower lung
development.

I know there was a swine flu outbreak before .

But that swine flu outbreak didn't have these mixed-up genes .

The current virus mixes an existing triple combination of human, avian and swine influenza identified in 1998 with two new swine virus genes from Asia and Europe, both of human origin.

This swine flu has a new gene combination that hasn't been seen before ....

The doctor that commented in the below article from the Chief Doctor again say’s why H1N1 is different then the seasonal flu . Young healthy people don’t die from the seasonal flu .

The doctor has never seen anything like the healthy people who have died from H1N1 EVER in all her many year’s of practice .

I have read many stories of doctors who have had unprecedented numbers of very sick people .

But I Should believe you over the report's that my best friend who is a nurse tell’s me ?

I will believe my friend who is dealing with H1N1 in her hospital .

How many H1N1 Cases have you dealt with ????????????

http://www.annarbor.com/news/hospitals-local-physicians-respond-to-influx-of-swine-flu-patients/

She recently had a 28-year-old male patient die from H1N1 complications.

It reminds her again what makes the H1N1 virus so different from the seasonal flu, even though it has similar mortality and hospitalization rates: Unlike the typical flu that puts the elderly and the already sick at greatest risk, it’s young, and healthy people who seem to be dying from this.

“A 28-year old male who is otherwise healthy, with no underlying conditions, is really striking,” Napolitano said.

This healthy child who died from H1N1 & his dad is a doctor .

The boy’s father got very sick from H1N1 too ...

I think the doctor who’s healthy child is dead from H1N1 would disagree with you 100% that H1N1 is HARMLESS !

http://www.timesunion.com/ASPStories/Story.asp?StoryID=865653&LinkFrom=RSS&TextPage=1

NY:

Learning from Trevor’s death in H1N1 fight

Monitor flu-like symptoms, breathing trouble, father of Clifton Park boy warns

By TIM O’BRIEN, Staff writer
First published in print: Saturday, November 14, 2009

CLIFTON PARK — The devastated father of a 7-year-old boy whose death is suspected to be from the H1N1 virus cautioned parents that if their children have flu-like symptoms and trouble breathing, it is a dangerous combination that should be carefully monitored.

Henry Lin said he was moved to speak in the hope that what he has learned from the death of his son, Trevor, could help other parents.

This week, the Saratoga County Health Department said a child’s death was suspected to be a result of the H1N1 virus. Lin’s family confirms their son, a second grader at Okte Elementary School, is the child.

“I only disclosed information about Trevor out of interest in protecting his fellow students’ lives,” Lin said.

The Shenendehowa school district has not alerted parents that Trevor’s death was suspected to be from the virus. The Saratoga County Health Department said a child had died and that H1N1 was the suspected cause, but it did not publicly identify the child.

Lin said he himself informed the school district and has told school officials they have his permission to say Trevor’s death was suspected to be from the H1N1 virus.

The district this week updated its Web site with additional information on the potentially dangerous symptoms of the H1N1 virus, including troubled or fast breathing, bluish or gray skin, severe or persistent vomiting or being so irritable that the child does not want to be held.

Kelly DeFeciani, spokeswoman for the Shenendehowa school district, said the district has sent three e-mail alerts to parents about the H1N1 virus, and she regularly updates the Web site with any new information from the Centers for Disease Control or the state Department of Health.

DeFeciani said the district has yet to receive official confirmation Trevor’s death was suspected to be from the H1N1 virus, but the district would not send the information out because of privacy issues.

“This is a public health crisis, not an education crisis,” DeFeciani said. “We look to the C.D.C. and the health departments and take our lead from them. We’re trying to provide a service to relay information from the experts.”

Trevor was an active boy who had no other medical problems, said his father, who is himself a medical doctor.

“He was one of the healthiest kids,” Lin said of his son, adding that he loved to jump off the high dive, and he ran to keep up with his two older siblings.

Lin himself contracted the virus after Trevor and was hospitalized. His case of H1N1 was confirmed.

“I’m still pretty ill,” he said.

He said he and his son both developed massive accumulations of mucus that made breathing extraordinarily difficult. Articles in the Journal of the American Medical Association are now recommending that patients with flu-like symptoms and breathing trouble be hospitalized for observation.

Lin said he and his son both had periods where they would feel fine and then were hit with mucus plugs he described as “paralyzing.”

Trevor was seen in a hospital emergency room the night before he died — his father declined to say which one — and was sent home.

Had he been hospitalized for observation, his father said, he may have been saved.

“I would like to let parents know they should really keep a very close eye on their kids,” he said. “They should watch their kids more closely than (when they are sick with) the regular flu and not be falsely reassured.”

Lin said he would like to see the Centers for Disease Control review the information in the two articles in the AMA journal, which looked at H1N1 deaths in Canada and California, and change its guidelines to recommend that patients with flulike symptoms and intermittent breathing difficulties be admitted.

A spokesman for the CDC responded to a question about the agency’s recommendations by e-mail. “Patients with breathing problems should go to the ER,” spokesman Jeffrey Dimond said. “Treatment would be at discretion of attending physician.”

Lin said he knows there are concerns about overwhelming the system, but admitting patients with symptoms like his son could save lives.

“I think it’s going to take several more deaths before the CDC and the state health departments start admitting these patients,” he said.

“If Trevor’s tragedy prevents more deaths, if there are changes because of his situation, I’d be very grateful,” he said.

Staff writer Tim O’Brien can be reached at 454-5092 or by e-mail at tobrien@timesunion.com

This isn’t like the regular flu

I can post article upon article and you will always think the swine flu is harmless .

You could have 1,000 doctors tell you you’re wrong , and you would still believe that only you know the truth .

Just like the folks who think Clinton would never cheat on his wife you will always think H1N1 is harmless .

Here’s another article of a healthy H1N1 death :)

He had first symptoms on Friday, was admitted to hospital Sunday and died Wednesday.

H1N1 death shrouded in mystery
Chemistry professor’s rapid decline exemplifies swine flu’s complexity
By Pauline Tam, With files from Tom Spears, Joanne Laucius and Scott Nowoselski, The Ottawa CitizenNovember 14, 2009
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/technology/H1N1+death+shrouded+mystery/2222037/story.html

Quote:
Fagnou died Wednesday in the The Ottawa Hospital’s intensive care unit three days after he was admitted. The first sign of illness his colleagues noticed was last Friday, when he sounded hoarse and said he was losing his voice. If that’s the case, Fagnou’s condition appears to have deteriorated at alarming speed.

“He complained that he had a sore throat,” said Deryn Fogg, one of Fagnou’s chemistry colleagues. “I had a meeting with him that morning, and think he might have gone home afterward. But he was working on, I think, a research proposal over the weekend.”

The lost winter of 1918
The Bakersfield Californian | Saturday, Nov 14 2009 08:36 PM
Last Updated Saturday, Nov 14 2009 08:36 PM

On a small farm outside of Bakersfield, a robust woman of 32, the mother of a small child, died quietly in the early hours of Sept. 30, 1918. As tragic as this loss was to the family, and the small community of friends and neighbors, it was only the beginning.

Over the next three months alone, death visited hundreds in one California city after another. During the same time, thousands were dying around the nation, millions around the globe. The Spanish influenza, the most efficient killer ever known to humankind, had descended upon Bakersfield.

By the fall of 1918, the arrival of the influenza had been expected for nearly nine months. Reports of an unusually bad seasonal flu, or la grippe as many referred to it, had been reported in the Eastern United States, but it appeared to have been confined to army bases. Many had concluded that the flu had run its course. In reality, the first wave of what epidemiologists identified 80 years later as the H1N1 virus was merely mutating into a much more virulent killer.

By August the flu was again ravaging the eastern seaboard. Boston, Philadelphia and New York were reporting staggering death rates.

In early October efforts by the media to downplay the epidemic had begun. On Oct. 12, the first “counter report” ran in The Bakersfield Californian. These were reports that may have had little basis in fact, but were sent out of Washington to allay fears. The Californian stated that “The influenza has been stopped in eastern cities.” The reality was that thousands were soon to die; in fact, the worst was yet to come for several major eastern cities. On Oct. 14, The Californian made its first reference to the local medical response from doctors. Dr. C. A. Morris was quoted as saying, “Wild rumors of a general epidemic in the county are unfounded.” He further stated, “Many cases of flu have been reported in the city and county. Most are probably simple colds. Merely as a precaution, moving picture shows will be closed to children under 17 years old and to those with colds.”

Yet, by the second week of October 1918, people had begun to take notice of this new influenza. The Californian listed the number of dead at 78, which, based on death records, was probably half the number of those who actually had died from the flu. Even then the paper stated that most of the victims were from out of the Bakersfield area.

All medical information on the local condition of the influenza came from only two men: Dr. C. A. Morris, the county health officer; and Dr. P. J. Cuneo, the city’s health officer. Their messages were always in agreement, and consistent with typical public health administrations around the nation: “Don’t get scared. There is no reason to get excited. The emergency is passing. The worst is over. Things are looking brighter today.” Oddly, the only practical advice, which was to come by the end of October, was to wear gauze masks, which probably did almost no good.

By Oct. 17, the situation had worsened considerably; every hospital had probably reached saturation. This can be deduced by the fact that temporary hospitals were opened in several large halls in Bakersfield, Taft and Fellows, including a 50-bed influenza ward at the county hospital. The schools were not utilized as hospitals for another week because they were still open, and would remain open until Oct. 24; this was long after the disease had thoroughly exposed every student attending school. Dr. Cuneo defended his decision to keep the schools open for nearly a month after the disease entered the city by saying, “Children are at greater risk roaming the streets than they are at school under the supervision of their teachers.”

Finally, on Oct. 25, 1918, Bakersfield city schools were closed. The headline read, “Close City Schools to Stamp Out The Influenza.” Cuneo added, “Falling off of attendance, not the epidemic, is the cause of the action.” He then added the often-repeated advice, “The best remedy is, ‘Don’t lose your head and get excited.’” It appears that parents had begun to enforce their own form of quarantine even if the public health department would not.

So how many victims of the influenza were there in Kern County? As recently as May 1, 2009, The Bakersfield Californian published a contributed article that claimed as many as 100 died of the Spanish influenza in Kern County. But underestimating the influenza has not been only a Kern County problem.

What we know is this: Of the three mortuaries in Bakersfield alone, at least 325 of the deceased processed from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 1918, had listed as cause of death either flu or pneumonia. The vast majority were in their 20s or 30s. Many more dead, though an unknown number, were cared for by family or by some other means. We must also remember that the disease ran for another six months, until the summer of 1919. Nationally, death rates averaged 1.5 percent to 2 percent. Even with the limited available data we have, and considering they encompass only 90 days of the epidemic, the lower number of 1.5 percent mortality for Kern County is realistic. That would put the county-wide number of dead for the entire term of the influenza well over 700 victims.

If this number is accurate, it would be greater than the number of all the war dead in the history of Kern County, and many times more than all forms of disaster countywide combined. Though few today are aware of the devastation that was wrought in 1918, the pain and loss of our forbearers is incalculable. Ultimately, the citizens of Kern County, like every other community, moved on. There was no other option.

We will never know completely the social and human cost of the Spanish influenza. What giants were lost? Who would have joined society’s historic memory and become beacons for following generations? Instead, their names mean little to us today. Ninety years ago the death of Leala Bosserdet came and went with little notice. Few knew what was to come. A wife and mother were lost; grief-stricken parents buried their young daughter. A small family’s pain slowly became lost in a global tragedy. Two generations later, far removed from their pain, we cannot help but wonder, how would that family have been different, had nature not chosen to rage in the winter of 1918?

Garth Milam is a battalion chief with the Bakersfield Fire Department and a graduate student in the history program at CSU Bakersfield. This is a condensed version of a longer article.
http://www.bakersfield.com/opinion/forum/x2029035644/The-lost-winter-of-1918

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