Posted on 05/17/2009 5:01:08 PM PDT by neverdem
The assistant principal of a Queens school who had been hospitalized with swine flu died on Sunday evening. It was the first death in New York State from the outbreak and came as city officials announced that five more Queens schools had been closed.
The assistant principal, Mitchell Wiener, had been “overwhelmed” by the illness despite treatment with an experimental drug, according to Ole Pedersen, a spokesman for Flushing Hospital Medical Center, where Mr. Wiener had been a patient since last Wednesday.
Mr. Pedersen said that Mr. Wiener, the assistant principal of Intermediate School 238 in Hollis, one of the schools closed last week, had been on a ventilator and had slipped in and out of consciousness during his illness.
The closings announced on Sunday followed a sharp rise in the number of students at the schools who have fallen ill with flulike symptoms, brings the number of shuttered schools to 10 in Queens and one in Brooklyn...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
So sorry to hear he has died. I was praying that he would recover.
Bloomberg is a pathetic human being.
Why should Bloomberg care about kids? He doesn’t have any.
FReepmail me if you want on or off my New York ping list.
This patient had gout and that’s the only health problem according to a close relative. I recall reading that he wanted his school shut down the week before he became ill.
Here’s an interesting case:
“...the man died Saturday morning at a Little Rock hospital after suffering from flulike symptoms for six weeks. Camper says samples taken from the man tested positive for several strains of flu”
Several means more than two. How does a human have 3 or more strains of flu?
http://www.wxvt.com/Global/story.asp?S=10377000&nav=menu1344_2
Medically, he was fairly typical for an influenza fatality. A likely cause was that when his lungs were damaged from the flu, he got an opportunistic, secondary bacterial pneumonia. These can really boost influenza mortality rates, especially now, when such “nosocomial infections” are common.
“Nosocomial infections” are infections which are a result of treatment in a hospital or a health care service unit, but secondary to the patient’s original condition. They are sometimes called “iatrogenic infections”.
Staphylococcus aureus, and its more dangerous form, MRSA, is the most common post hospitalization infection. Necrotizing fasciitis, or “the flesh eating bacillus” is also common, as are E. coli infections.
Various fungal infections are increasingly appearing, and may be latent infections, waiting months or years before emerging when the immune system is weak.
It does not seem that his condition was worsened by his hospitalization. He was critically ill when he showed up in the ER. His passing seems too rapid to be the result of secondary bacterial infection.
It does not seem that his condition was worsened by his hospitalization. He was critically ill when he showed up in the ER. His passing seems too rapid to be the result of secondary bacterial infection.
The health commissioner, Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, said in a statement about the school closings that while swine flu resembled seasonal flu, it had been spreading more rapidly.
Thanks for the ping!
See David Boaz at the Cato Institution for a discussion
of BHO and his CDC head pick’s view of “public health”
which amounts to ever increasing nanny state intrusions.
See MaxedOutMama for a recent discussion: it’s now a pandemic
but what that means is not sure. I agree we must wait and
see. I can’t assess the reports that NYC school personnel
were “chastised” for wanting to close schools earlier.
My heartfelt condolences to Mr. Wiener’s wife and children.
At the point, only his Medical Examiner knows for sure.
The level used to denote the pandemic simply means how widespread and not the severity.
The first death in the state of WA was ludicrous. The family said the man weighed over 400 lbs. had severe health issues and never left the house. It was impossible for him to have swine flu.
Getting any truth at all from the government is an impossibility. Everything is determined by ‘politics’ and not public health.
As for Mr. Weiner. His family insists he had NO underlying health issues other than gout.
Very sad for his family.
Ping... (Thanks, neverdem!)
Understood.
Just bear in mind that the flu virus and its direct actions are not what kills most people, it’s complications from the flu such as pneumonia that kill you.
If you look at the CDC’s advice to clinicians regarding this H1N1 “Swine flu”, it’s really little different than for any other winter time flu. So despite the media hype, this variant is no ferocious people killer compared to other influenzas.
As I write this my school has 17 kids in the med room wearing masks. 6 or 7 have already been sent home. My first period class had 9 kids out, out of 26. Don’t think I’m not worried about this. The fact that this spreads so quickly worries one of our science teachers as he explained that the virus molecules tend to attract other molecules in warm weather and don’t linger in the air. This one seems to act the same way as a winter virus in its ability to spread.
OK, let me see if I can help you be properly prudent, not fearful.
People should wear masks during a virulent outbreak for the following two reasons:
(1) masks interrupt the common human habit of touching your face, particularly one’s nose and mouth (mucous membranes). Those are the primary vectors of infection. Ocular vectors have not been broadly demonstrated with this virus, meaning the eyes don’t yet seem to be an entry point. So, a surgical mask keep “johnny’s” contaminated fingers out of his mouth and nose. It also keeps “Susy” from broadly distributing the virus via aerosol/ airborne means when she sneezes/ coughs.
(2) the second reason to wear a mask is to reduce the chance of infection from aerosol/ airborne viruses, and also to be considerate of others’ health when you cough or sneeze.
The mask is markedly ineffective if not coupled with proper hand-washing prior to removing/replacing the mask for eating / whatever. Hand-to-mouth/nose is THE big vector for infection.
Take a look at what the CDC says to clinicians. This is professionals talking to professionals. IGNORE what you read in the paper, see on the news, or get in a school newsletter unless it is verbatim from the CDC.
read this: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/identifyingpatients.htm
Pay particular attention to the part about how to advise/care for the infected. i.e., “Medical care for patients with novel influenza A (H1N1) virus”
Clinical findings
Patients with uncomplicated disease due to confirmed novel influenza A (H1N1) virus infection have experienced fever, chills, headache, upper respiratory tract symptoms (cough, sore throat, rhinorrhea, shortness of breath), myalgias, arthralgias, fatigue, vomiting, or diarrhea. In New York City, 95% of patients with novel influenza A (H1N1) met the case definition for influenza-like illness (subjective fever plus cough and/or sore throat) (Swine-Origin Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Infections in a School -— New York City, April 2009)
Complications
There is insufficient information to date about clinical complications of this novel influenza A (H1N1) virus infection. Among persons infected with previous variants of swine influenza viruses, clinical syndromes have ranged from mild respiratory illness, to lower respiratory tract illness, dehydration, or pneumonia. Deaths caused by previous variants of swine influenza viruses have occasionally occurred. Although data on the spectrum of illness is not yet available for this novel influenza A (H1N1), clinicians should expect complications to be similar to seasonal influenza: exacerbation of underlying chronic medical conditions, upper respiratory tract disease (sinusitis, otitis media, croup) lower respiratory tract disease (pneumonia, bronchiolitis, status asthmaticus), cardiac (myocarditis, pericarditis), musculoskeletal (myositis, rhabdomyolysis), neurologic (acute and post-infectious encephalopathy, encephalitis, febrile seizures, status epilepticus), toxic shock syndrome, and secondary bacterial pneumonia with or without sepsis.
Groups at high risk for complications
Currently, insufficient data are available to determine who is at higher risk for complications of novel influenza A (H1N1) virus infection. Thus, at this time, the same age and risk groups who are at higher risk for seasonal influenza complications should also be considered at higher risk for swine-origin influenza complications.
Groups at higher risk for seasonal influenza complications include:
* Children less than 5 years old;
* Persons aged 65 years or older;
* Children and adolescents (less than 18 years) who are receiving long-term aspirin therapy and who might be at risk for experiencing Reye syndrome after influenza virus infection;
* Pregnant women;
* Adults and children who have chronic pulmonary, cardiovascular, hepatic, hematological, neurologic, neuromuscular, or metabolic disorders;
* Adults and children who have immunosuppression (including immunosuppression caused by medications or by HIV);
* Residents of nursing homes and other chronic-care facilities.
Medical care for patients with novel influenza A (H1N1) virus
Not all patients with suspected novel influenza (H1N1) infection need to be seen by a health care provider. Patients with severe illness and those at high risk for complications from influenza (see list above) should contact their medical provider or seek medical care.
FYI CNN reporting that Mr. Weiner did have a pre-existing condition that predisposed him to mortality.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/05/18/swine.flu.ny.death/index.html
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