Posted on 11/21/2009 4:28:00 PM PST by tired&retired
4 at Duke get drug-resistant H1N1 By KEITH UPCHURCH
DURHAM -- Four patients at Duke University Medical Center, all from North Carolina, have tested positive for a type of swine flu that's resistant to the antiviral drug Tamiflu, and three have died, health officials announced Friday at a news conference in Raleigh.
The fourth patient, a woman, is still a patient at Duke and ''is doing much better,'' they said.
Although the four had the H1N1 virus, they all had other medical problems, so it's uncertain if the swine flu caused their deaths, they said.
All four were in an isolated cancer unit, and it is believed they caught the flu at the hospital, according to Daniel J. Sexton, professor of medicine and director of the Duke Infection Control Outreach Network. The first patient was given Tamiflu before becoming ill with the virus, as a preventive measure, and the three others got Tamiflu after developing flu symptoms, Sexton said.
The Duke cases are the largest so-called "cluster" of drug-resistant cases of the swine flu in the United States reported so far. In those cases, the virus appears to have mutated, but the mutations are considered rare and so far don't appear to be cause for alarm, they said.
The press conference was led by Megan Davies, a North Carolina state epidemiologist; Duke physician Cameron Wolfe; and medical epidemiologist Zack Moore.
Davies said the N.C. Division of Public Health is working with Duke Medical Center and the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta to investigate the Duke cases. She said the Duke patients' "antiviral resistance'' was confirmed Monday night.
The four patients were diagnosed with the swine flu in October and earlier this month and were hospitalized in the same unit at Duke. "Duke physicians discovered the resistant strain after some of the patients continued to test positive for flu despite antiviral treatment,'' Davies said.
The deaths include two adult women an adult man. Davies said they were from different parts of North Carolina, but declined to be more specific. It was unclear exactly when they died.
"All of them had pretty serious underlying medical conditions, including some immunosuppression, and so we are unable to say that their deaths were caused by influenza,'' she said. "They are influenza-associated deaths.''
She said the four became ill "over the past couple of months.''
Davies said mutations of the H1N1 virus so far have been rare.
"We haven't seen sustained transmission of this mutation,'' she said. "It's just unfortunate that with this single mutation, it can become resistant to medication that we use frequently.''
"It's resistance is from a mutation,'' Moore said, ''but that does not mean that the H1N1 virus in general is mutating. We have not seen mutation on any kind of large scale.''
Wolfe said the mutation is not expected to have any effect on the current H1N1 vaccine.
"The vaccine will still be good at protecting patients,'' he said. "And I think this just encourages us to re-encourage others to get vaccinated.''
"The take-home message is that people in the target group should seek vaccination,'' Davies said. "That is your best protection against influenza. If you become ill, you should stay home, monitor your symptoms and contact your physician if you feel you're worsening.''
She said most people who get the flu don't get antiviral treatment. "So this mutation is a moot point to most of us. However, it is something we have to pay attention to when we see it.''
Moore said that since the swine flu began in April, 21 cases of drug-resistant virus have been reported in the United States, excluding the Duke cases.
He said there have been 58 reported H1N1 deaths in North Carolina since April.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Therefore, the precautions from transmission of the flu or anything else should have been ultra strict.
Please be specific.
Who are the health officials referred to as "they"? Medical doctors or Obamacare?
Ping
White frat-boys are to blame.
Wondering if the shots were laced with the deadly flu
This is a top notch hospital. One of the best in the world. I won’t even hold it against them that Ted Kennedy went there for his dangerous brain surgery.... (His brain was dangerous, not the surgery...LOL)
***Although the four had the H1N1 virus, they all had other medical problems, so it’s uncertain if the swine flu caused their deaths, they said.***
This is an important statement to consider.
This is why they must pass healthcare...so they will control the population during the pandemic.
ping
more info on similar cases
H1N1 mutations emerging around the world - Tamiflu-resistant strain of H1N1 virus resists antivirals
November 21, 11:16 AM - LA Health Technology Examiner - Victoria Nicks - excerpt
“More than 50 isolated cases of H1N1 mutation that results in resistance to antiviral drugs like Tamiflu have been identified around the world since the outbreak of the Novel A H1N1 virus, also known as Swine Flu. These cases have been carefully monitored, but have not appeared to spread beyond the original host. Now, however, a cluster of patients with the H1N1 mutation have been identified in a single hospital.”
Smokin’ Joe I pinged your list , and some other freepers to another H1N1 mutation death freeper article thread .
4 at Duke hospital get drug-resistant H1N1,three have died .
thanks :)
Tamiflu-resistant H1N1 cluster found in N. Carolina hospital.
Tamiflu-resistant H1N1 cluster found in N. Carolina hospital
http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/news/health_and_science/1.434828
thanks :)
Thanks for the ping!
Thanks! I have been off line most of the day.
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