OH
update on Springfield woman:
Updated 10:14 PM Tuesday, November 3, 2009
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Robinson, who had no underlying medical conditions, was in the emergency department with what appeared to be bronchitis about two days before she died, said Dr. Richard Marsh, Clark County coroner.
While in the hospital, Robinson was tested for H1N1, said Dr. Stephen Feagins, medical director at Springfield Regional Medical Center.
“The test came back negative,” he said, “(and) she did not have a high fever at that time.”
Robinson was given antibiotics for the bronchitis and was sent home.
Her family, who asked not to be interviewed, told Marsh during his investigation that Robinson started feeling worse with a high fever around 3 a.m. Tuesday and was found dead about four hours later.
Both he and Marsh said it appeared the hospital followed proper protocol related to Robinson’s symptoms. The hospital is doing an extensive review, Feagins said.
The H1N1, which has caused the death of 292 people nationally since Aug. 30, hits people in their 20s especially hard. In the last two weeks, Springfield Regional Medical Center has had 12 individuals on ventilators — the majority of them in their mid-20s, Feagins said.
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Health Commissioner Charles Patterson said he did not want people to panic but he urged those who are considered high risk to be vaccinated. Robinson would not have qualified for the vaccine because she was older than 24 and considered healthy.
http://www.theolympian.com/living/story/1023430.html
WEATHER THE SECOND WAVE
We are in the middle of the second wave of the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. The first wave peaked in May and June. During the next 12 to18 months, we likely will see more waves of H1N1 influenza affect our communities.
The majority of those getting influenza are younger than 50. In Washington state, as of late last week, we have had 29 deaths related to influenza since April.