All things swine flu (H1N1)

[Blue_Dolphin308]

In a conference call with reporters, Anne Schuchat, M.D., interim deputy director of the CDC's science and health programs, also braced the American public for more severe disease.

"I do fear that we will have deaths here," she said.

http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/URItheFlu/13903

 

[Sassygerl]

In a conference call with reporters, Anne Schuchat, M.D., interim deputy director of the CDC's science and health programs, also braced the American public for more severe disease.

"I do fear that we will have deaths here," she said.

http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/URItheFlu/13903

of course we will. People die from the flu all the time.

eta: Lady I'm not trying to be smart...just being realistic. I think the media is just going crazy!

 

[fortytwo]

In a conference call with reporters, Anne Schuchat, M.D., interim deputy director of the CDC's science and health programs, also braced the American public for more severe disease.

"I do fear that we will have deaths here," she said.

http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/URItheFlu/13903

Around 30,000 people die "here" each year as a result of a 'normal' flu season.

It would be far more newsworthy if they were to suggest that people weren't going to die.

 

[SuziQ]

IMO, flooding doctors offices to get the antivirals "just in case", is not a good idea. If we hoard the meds they won't be available for use for those who need it. Unless you have life threatening symptoms, I don't think rushing to the emergency room when you can go to your regular doc is a good idea.

ETA: It's much cheaper to go to a doc than to go to the emergency room.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=6282456

(snip)
Dr. David Sundwall, the executive director for the Utah Department of Health, said, "Well, I think you have to use common sense. You know we're subject to colds, to respiratory illnesses all the time. I think though, if I were running a fever, had muscle aches and felt unusually tired along with a respiratory illness, yeah, I'd go to the doctor…even if you haven't been to Mexico."

One concern is over-reaction; the health care system could be swamped by people with minor symptoms. That's why they don't want people to over-react. Be alert, they say, but don't be alarmed.

 

[SuziQ]

Guy on Cnn Now:

People watching tv today are not that High, so they are going to have to get the media playing it again.

Also if they wake up tomorow not knowing not to go into the Er when they are sick we may see a whole crap load of cases being reported tomorow.

How did it start in mexico, where did it come from? Why are mexicans dying form it, when the others are not. Did this swine flu come out of a lab, or a farm?

More reports will be coming in of more cases within 24-72 hours.

I think the obvious answer is the lack of access to healthcar, and their culture probably doesn't go to the doc for every little ache and pain like we do in the U.S. They probably wait until they are seriously sick to seek medical help. And my understanding is that antivirals are not widely used or available there.

 

[Sassygerl]

Seriously, I'm betting doctors are dreading going to work tomorrow! All those in a panic will be calling. I can't even imagine!

 

[SuziQ]

Seriously, I'm betting doctors are dreading going to work tomorrow! All those in a panic will be calling. I can't even imagine!

It's going to be chaos and take away from anyone who really needs medical care. Just from reading posts attached to various articles, it appears the media is better at creating hysteria than reporting on the facts. People are posting that there is no cure and you'll die. First off, there is no cure for any flu, second, most people survive the flu.

 

[MistyM]

in all seriousness a person should not be completely writing this off, but they should not be panicking either. stay vigilant and find out what is going on in your area (unless you are planning to travel).

you cannot compare this to ordinary flu because it's completely new. it should be taken more seriously than normal flu but not to the point of thinking it's the end of the world.

regular flu does definitely kill people, this flu just might have a higher death rate. if regular flu kills .1% of people, a similar flu to 1918 would kill perhaps 2% (of those infected, which might be maybe 30% of the population). this is a worst case scenario of course.

i think the reason why they are on such alert is because 1. this is a new strain and 2. it's targeting healthy young people, which again is similar to 1918.

i'm curious to see what will happen this winter.

 

[OrdinaryLife]

Well, I have a daughter who lives in Queens, a graduation for my youngest coming up where I have to travel, will be in a very crowded arena with many others from *everywhere*, and all within the next week. I'm good with that.

Life moves on and we can only take care of ourselves the best we can. I plan to do that, but I refuse to miss the best of celebrations out there. Panic is not in my vocabulary, though I am wise to what is "out there". Have a good night and do not lose sleep for tomorrow. Be safely diligent, but do not lose yourself into a place that is not living life....

 

[Tessie]

I live in northTexas, and have been sick since April 3rd with what was diagnosed as a respiratory infection and when the meds didn't work as bronchitis. I have never been so sick in my life and you can bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow morning I will be contacting where I was treated for the past 3 weeks to make sure it was is NOT the swine flu.
I haven't been around pigs...or fowl or anyone else who seemed to be sick.

 

[MistyM]

see what people in mexico are saying...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/8018428.stm

Mexico flu: Your experiences

Mexico City residents are being told to wear protective masks

Readers in Mexico have been emailing the BBC describing the sense of fear gripping the country as a result of a flu virus outbreak, which has so far claimed more than 80 lives.
The World Health Organization says the virus has the potential to become a pandemic.
Read a selection of BBC readers' comments below.
I'm a specialist doctor in respiratory diseases and intensive care at the Mexican National Institute of Health. There is a severe emergency over the swine flu here. More and more patients are being admitted to the intensive care unit. Despite the heroic efforts of all staff (doctors, nurses, specialists, etc) patients continue to inevitably die. The truth is that anti-viral treatments and vaccines are not expected to have any effect, even at high doses. It is a great fear among the staff. The infection risk is very high among the doctors and health staff.
There is a sense of chaos in the other hospitals and we do not know what to do. Staff are starting to leave and many are opting to retire or apply for holidays. The truth is that mortality is even higher than what is being reported by the authorities, at least in the hospital where I work it. It is killing three to four patients daily, and it has been going on for more than three weeks. It is a shame and there is great fear here. Increasingly younger patients aged 20 to 30 years are dying before our helpless eyes and there is great sadness among health professionals here.
Antonio Chavez, Mexico City
I am a doctor and I work in the State of Mexico. I don't work in the shock team; I am in the echocardiography team, but I do get some news from my colleagues in the hospital. There have been some cases of young people dying from respiratory infections, but this happened before the alert and they were not reported because the necessary tests weren't done. We doctors knew this was happening a week before the alert was issued and were told to get vaccinated. I went to buy some anti-virals for my husband, who is also a doctor, because he had contact with a young patient who presented influenza symptoms and died. I don't think pharmacies stock enough anti-virals.
I understand the government doesn't want to generate panic, but my personal opinion is that they issued the alert too late. Still now, the population is not getting the information they need. We have been out in the street and some people are not wearing face masks and are not taking any preventive measures.
Guadalupe, Mexico City

 

[Sassygerl]

I hope you feel better Tessie. Keep us posted. A school district not far from me is closed for the week after 2 confirmed cases. I can only hope things get better but I'm sure more cases will be cropping up.

 

[justthinkin]

Tessie, whatever it was, I'm glad you're getting over it!

A third student from Bryan High School in Cibolo, a satellite town NE of San Antonio is now being treated for what is suspected as the Swine Flu. The high school will be closed until further notice as they try to contain the spread in this pocket of the outbreak.

 

[anthrobones]

I've been looking at the news all day. I'm getting kind of bored with this. Are there any other real updates?

 

[Lil'E]

It's my understanding that this is a different strain, but I wonder about the swine flu vaccinations of the 1970's - if they will have any positive effect. Anyone get the government sponsored shots?

I had the vaccine back in 1976, however I am unsure how long its effects last or even if it will help with this new strain.

Two weeks ago I had every symptom listed for this new bug, and lost 16 lbs in one week. Felt I was drowning in my own fluids. My father and brothers had it as well. We live in a rural area in Illinois and have never been to, or near Mexico. We all got over it with no visits to the Doctor because we are just learning it could have been Swine Flu. Mucinex was our only meds taken to dry up the lung problems.

Everyone stay safe and try Mucinex DM if your lungs fill up, and see your Doctor raying:

 

[MistyM]

LiL'E are you gonna go see if you could have had it? You would have antibodies.

 

[txsvicki]

People, especially in the age 24-40 range might be advised to take this seriously. That is the age group that it is killing in Mexico and is the age group of the millions dead from flu back in 1918 due to what is believed to have been cytokine storm. In 1918 it started milder in the Spring then turned into a killer in the fall and winter. That could happen with this flu or it could fizzle out. We don't know and the experts don't know. The many countries globally aren't scrambling, worried, and alarming the public for no reason. This swine flu is thought by some to have originated from a pig farm in Mexico. I might as well consider myself to be in Mexico here in Texas, so I'm staying away from stores this next week and will definitely keep my youngest grandson home from school for a few days if it gets really bad.

 

[SeekingJana]

(bold above by me)

This is pretty much utter drivel. I don't know what you're reading, or who is writing it, but it is by someone with either an abysmal lack of understanding of microbiology or an agenda which ignores simple fact to generate hysteria.

Or both.

Excerpt from a Wiki article on H1N1

(red above by me)

Please note the use of the term 'variant' above, as well

Excerpt from a Wiki article on Influenza Type A

(red above by me)

I want to stress again that This Is What The Flu Virus Does.

Normally

...and Naturally.

Like I said, and it is NOT drivel at all but is taken from 2 very respected sources for laypersons. This H1N1 flu strain has not been seen, and humans do not have immunity to it.

Here is a site for laypersons explaining exactly what I said and what I meant.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30423369/

Quoting:
"This is a new virus so there's no natural immunity. It has the potential to spread very widely. That's what raises worries about a possible pandemic."

As to my earlier statement that Mexico did not do enough to contain the spread early on, this is also said in the same article:

"There's supposed to be a pandemic prevention plan to contain a new flu virus by giving people in surrounding area Tamiflu. But it has obviously been spreading in Mexico for up to a month. The new strain of swine flu was discovered in California before the U.S. even knew about cases in Mexico. The virus could also be mutating."

One does not get accurate medical information from " Wikipedia" necessarily.
And the article I am quoting is very generic, not nearly as specific as the medical community specific literature and advisories I have access to.

Respectfully,
Maria

 

[maconrich]

Like I said, and it is NOT drivel at all but is taken from 2 very respected sources for laypersons. This H1N1 flu strain has not been seen, and humans do not have immunity to it.

Here is a site for laypersons explaining exactly what I said and what I meant.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30423369/

(respectfully snipped)
One does not get accurate medical information from " Wikipedia" necessarily.

Respectfully,
Maria
(respectfully snipped)

TY Maria, Good article with solid information!
:blowkiss:
(FWIW I despise the wiki sites and have seen too much stuff fudged with on a whim. I prefer going to the source right off...)

 

[fortytwo]

Like I said, and it is NOT drivel at all but is taken from 2 very respected sources for laypersons. This H1N1 flu strain has not been seen, and humans do not have immunity to it.

Here is a site for laypersons explaining exactly what I said and what I meant.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30423369/

Quoting:
"This is a new virus so there's no natural immunity. It has the potential to spread very widely. That's what raises worries about a possible pandemic."

As to my earlier statement that Mexico did not do enough to contain the spread early on, this is also said in the same article:

"There's supposed to be a pandemic prevention plan to contain a new flu virus by giving people in surrounding area Tamiflu. But it has obviously been spreading in Mexico for up to a month. The new strain of swine flu was discovered in California before the U.S. even knew about cases in Mexico. The virus could also be mutating."

One does not get accurate medical information from " Wikipedia" necessarily.
And the article I am quoting is very generic, not nearly as specific as the medical community specific literature and advisories I have access to.

Respectfully,
Maria

To recap.

In your original post you said...

"One thing is different: Humans have never been inoculated against H1N1 influenza."

This is patently ridiculous.

The influenza A (H1N1) virus is one of the most commonly seen in humans, and is regularly considered as part of the inoculation planning.

You have rephrased in your post above, indicating that you may actually have been referring to a new variant of N1H1 in Mexico, which would be correct. Perhaps your quotes are too "generic".

You say, "One does not get accurate medical information from " Wikipedia" necessarily."

Perhaps one could look at the footnotes and references included with the Wiki article. Unless you find the CDC to be an unreliable reference the Wiki article footnotes would have led you to this site, a CDC web page which gives all of the flu data they have accumulated for every flu season since 1999, by week, and includes yearly summaries and recommendations for the following season's vaccine composition.

The influenza A (N1H1) virus features quite prominently.

There is enough pointless panic being sparked by unnecessary misinformation. Let us not contribute further to it.