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05/12/2009 11:27:36 AM · #376 |
Originally posted by BrennanOB:
We got a phone call this morning, it seems that Robin, a friend of my wife's from high school days died in San Diego. She had been training for triathlons four years ago when she found out she had pulmonary hypertension, and when the H1N1 hit the family last week it swamped her ability to keep her blood oxygenated. She leaves behind her husband and two high school aged sons. |
Wow, that's truly sad, my thoughts go out to their family.
The only thing that scares the shit out of me with this virus is if my son gets it, not sure how he would fair with his chronic lung disease, hes getting stronger as he gets older but cant help but worry... |
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05/12/2009 11:29:24 AM · #377 |
| Brennan, I'm sorry to hear about your friend's death. Has it been confirmed as Swine Flu? The news sources still list only three U.S. deaths, the last being a man. |
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05/12/2009 12:37:32 PM · #378 |
Originally posted by citymars:
Brennan, I'm sorry to hear about your friend's death. Has it been confirmed as Swine Flu? The news sources still list only three U.S. deaths, the last being a man. |
The autopsy won't be done for a few days yet, and I would expect her pulmonary hypertension will be the CoD since it is the underlying cause. |
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06/11/2009 02:34:06 PM · #379 |
| Well, looks like it's pandemic after all. Thank goodness it's mild so far. One can hope we will have a vaccine by the time it potentially mutates into something more virulent. |
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06/11/2009 02:48:05 PM · #380 |
Originally posted by DrAchoo:
Well, looks like it's pandemic after all. Thank goodness it's mild so far. One can hope we will have a vaccine by the time it potentially mutates into something more virulent. |
Yea they raised the bar here yesterday, got this from the company safety girl:
Last Updated: 10th June 2009, 3:01am
OTTAWA -- The World Health Organization is on the brink of declaring the H1N1 swine influenza an official pandemic, and Canadian officials are watching two particularly vulnerable populations: young people and aboriginals.
"We know the virus is spreading and we are now seeing activity picking up in a number of countries," said Feiji Fukuda, acting assistant director-general of the WHO.
"We are getting closer to probably a pandemic situation."
Fukuda said there are now 26,563 laboratory-confirmed cases around the world, including 249 deaths.
As of Monday, there were 2,446 confirmed cases of H1N1 in Canada, and four deaths had been linked to the virus. Ontario accounted for 1,223 cases, Quebec for 547 and Saskatchewan for 210.
Nunavut has been hit hard, with 25 confirmed cases. And in Manitoba, more than 200 people from St. Theresa Point First Nation were ill.
Jirina Vlk, a spokesman for the Public Health Agency of Canada, said the average age of those diagnosed is 22, with the virus being "most commonly reported among children and young adults." Normal flu tends to strike the elderly or very young children.
The low average age for H1N1 could be a result of more school-age children being tested, Vlk said.
Health Canada and the Manitoba government are also investigating the high rates of H1N1 among First Nations. "It appears that a significant number of aboriginal people with severe illness also have underlying health problems, such as diabetes," Vlk said.
Should the WHO move from its current Phase 5 pandemic alert to the top level, Phase 6, Canada would not need to make major changes to its current approach to the virus, said Vlk.
"Moving to a Phase 6 is based on the spread of the virus, not the severity of the illness it causes. Canada has already taken a proactive approach in addressing this virus."
Most cases of the virus in Canada have been considered mild.
A pandemic is the worldwide outbreak of a specific disease, not previously known, to which people have little or no immunity.
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06/11/2009 03:35:00 PM · #381 |
As of today, it is officially phase 6.
//www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/
27 deaths in the US, all 50 states reporting cases now. It'll probably disappear for a while this summer, then come back further mutated this Fall. Hope not. |
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06/11/2009 07:41:17 PM · #382 |
This is still going on? Why aren't we all dead yet?
I'm *so* out of it. Got new thyroid meds today, maybe i'll wake up sometime next week. |
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06/11/2009 08:54:31 PM · #383 |
Originally posted by DrAchoo:
Well, looks like it's pandemic after all. Thank goodness it's mild so far. One can hope we will have a vaccine by the time it potentially mutates into something more virulent. |
Agree! It has been mild and that's a good thing but as you said we must hope it doesn't return a more virulent virus.
I have done some reading on the 1918-1919 Spanish flu and the similarities are a bit disturbing.
Deadly second wave
The second wave of the 1918 pandemic was much deadlier than the first. During the first wave, which began in early March, the epidemic resembled typical flu epidemics. Those at the most risk were the sick and elderly, and younger, healthier people recovered easily. But in August, when the second wave began in France, Sierra Leone and the United States,[39] the virus had mutated to a much more deadly form. This has been attributed to the circumstances of the first World War.[40] In civilian life evolutionary pressures favor a mild strain: those who get really sick stay home, but those mildly ill continue with their lives, go to work and go shopping, preferentially spreading the mild strain. In the trenches the evolutionary pressures were reversed: soldiers with a mild strain remained where they were, while the severely ill were sent on crowded trains to crowded field hospitals, spreading the deadlier virus. So the second wave began and flu quickly spread around the world again.[41] It was the same flu, in that those who recovered from first-wave infections were immune, but it was far more deadly, and the most vulnerable people were those like the soldiers in the trenches—young, otherwise healthy, adults.[42] Consequently, during modern pandemics, health officials pay attention when the virus reaches places with social upheaval, looking for deadlier strains of the virus.[41]
Let's hope and pray it does not happen this time. It is estimated that up to 1/3 of the worlds 1.6 billion people become infected with the 1918 influenza A(H1N1). Of those 10 to 20% died; 50 to 100 million people.
It that same scenario played out (and lets pray not) with the worlds population close to 7 billion. It could potentially infect 2.31 Billion people and kill between 230 and 460 million people. That's more than the population of the US. |
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06/11/2009 09:19:02 PM · #384 |
| In 1918, it still wasn't commonly accepted (or taught) that hand washing was important. There's a big difference between 1918 and today. |
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06/11/2009 09:26:50 PM · #385 |
| Just back from the Drs, all clear for swine, but a good dose of viral influenza, Remedy: drink plenty of beer (fluids) Plenty of rest (let the partner do all the work) oh! and take 1 penicilin tablet 1 hour befor food for the next 7 days. Would not wish this on my worst enemy.:(:( |
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06/11/2009 09:28:33 PM · #386 |
Originally posted by vawendy:
In 1918, it still wasn't commonly accepted (or taught) that hand washing was important. There's a big difference between 1918 and today. |
Your right - but different in both positive and negitive ways.
In 1918 hand washing may have been less important but today travel in confined spaces (i.e. Airlines, trains, subways) are hundreds of fold more than in 1918. So the human-to-human transmission is greater. Evidence has already proven that to be true. In last century epidemics and pandemics it would take as long as six months to travel the globe. This new A(H1N1) virus has done that in just a little over 6 weeks - about 4x faster.
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06/11/2009 09:32:46 PM · #387 |
Originally posted by BrianR:
Just back from the Drs, all clear for swine, but a good dose of viral influenza, Remedy: drink plenty of beer (fluids) Plenty of rest (let the partner do all the work) oh! and take 1 penicilin tablet 1 hour befor food for the next 7 days. Would not wish this on my worst enemy.:(:( |
Ahhh you too! I had to go to the ER about two weeks ago. I felt like crap. They took all precautions as they did X-Rays, blood work, and other test. I also was cleared of the swine but did have the flu. Took me about a week to get to feeling some better. I was told to take these meds, rest, and stay at home. And like you said...I would not wish it on my worst enemy. |
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06/11/2009 09:33:31 PM · #388 |
Originally posted by BrianR:
Just back from the Drs, all clear for swine, but a good dose of viral influenza, Remedy: drink plenty of beer (fluids) Plenty of rest (let the partner do all the work) oh! and take 1 penicilin tablet 1 hour befor food for the next 7 days. Would not wish this on my worst enemy.:(:( |
but what does penicillin do for viral?! |
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06/11/2009 09:37:19 PM · #389 |
Originally posted by vawendy:
Originally posted by BrianR:
Just back from the Drs, all clear for swine, but a good dose of viral influenza, Remedy: drink plenty of beer (fluids) Plenty of rest (let the partner do all the work) oh! and take 1 penicilin tablet 1 hour befor food for the next 7 days. Would not wish this on my worst enemy.:(:( |
but what does penicillin do for viral?! |
Since  BrianR is offline I try to answer that with what the doctor told me. It is to prevent phenomena from setting in. Along with other bacterial infections that can be triggered by influenza. |
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06/11/2009 09:38:31 PM · #390 |
| I'm seeing next to nothing on the news, or in the newspaper about this these days, even though I know we have over 1500 cases here in Milwaukee alone, one of the highest incidences in the country. Seems it is old news, but it was enough to close schools when there were 10 times fewer cases :-P |
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06/11/2009 09:45:03 PM · #391 |
Originally posted by kirbic:
I'm seeing next to nothing on the news, or in the newspaper about this these days, even though I know we have over 1500 cases here in Milwaukee alone, one of the highest incidences in the country. Seems it is old news, but it was enough to close schools when there were 10 times fewer cases :-P |
Your right and it is amazing how it was covered at first and not now. I'm guessing because of its current virulent nature. Or maybe due to the current world economic state they don't want the pandemic to cause panic. Let's just hope it's not complacency.
Message edited by author 2009-06-11 21:45:34. |
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06/11/2009 09:47:05 PM · #392 |
Originally posted by kirbic:
I'm seeing next to nothing on the news, or in the newspaper about this these days, even though I know we have over 1500 cases here in Milwaukee alone, one of the highest incidences in the country. Seems it is old news, but it was enough to close schools when there were 10 times fewer cases :-P |
Well it's in the headlines over here again;
WHO declares swine flu pandemic
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06/11/2009 09:50:12 PM · #393 |
| I think it's because there aren't enough deaths. A bunch of people getting mildly sick is old news. They need sensationalism (ie: corpses :( ) |
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06/11/2009 09:53:46 PM · #394 |
Originally posted by JH:
Originally posted by kirbic:
I'm seeing next to nothing on the news, or in the newspaper about this these days, even though I know we have over 1500 cases here in Milwaukee alone, one of the highest incidences in the country. Seems it is old news, but it was enough to close schools when there were 10 times fewer cases :-P |
Well it's in the headlines over here again;
WHO declares swine flu pandemic |
Yes they declared it a pandemic today. It has been in the news but not front page. And the updated US numbers reported by the CDC don't come out until tomorrow. |
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06/11/2009 11:34:15 PM · #395 |
Originally posted by SDW:
Originally posted by vawendy:
Originally posted by BrianR:
Just back from the Drs, all clear for swine, but a good dose of viral influenza, Remedy: drink plenty of beer (fluids) Plenty of rest (let the partner do all the work) oh! and take 1 penicilin tablet 1 hour befor food for the next 7 days. Would not wish this on my worst enemy.:(:( |
but what does penicillin do for viral?! |
Since BrianR is offline I try to answer that with what the doctor told me. It is to prevent phenomena from setting in. Along with other bacterial infections that can be triggered by influenza. |
Antibiotic prophylaxis is usually only appropriate for people at high risk of complications, such as a history of rheumatic fever or damaged or artificial heart valves, or with an otherwise compromised immune system. |
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06/11/2009 11:41:45 PM · #396 |
Originally posted by vawendy:
Originally posted by BrianR:
Just back from the Drs, all clear for swine, but a good dose of viral influenza, Remedy: drink plenty of beer (fluids) Plenty of rest (let the partner do all the work) oh! and take 1 penicilin tablet 1 hour befor food for the next 7 days. Would not wish this on my worst enemy.:(:( |
but what does penicillin do for viral?! |
Because of my cardiac history and the daily medication I am on I am not able to take any of the sudafed type medication IE codral and such,(causes the blood pressure to rise) and he does not wish me to go over 4grams of paracetamol 24hr day for the pain, he is going to attack the virus to prevent it spreading down into the chest,at present it is located in the head and all joints and bones. You may think this an overkill,but I have already had a flatline situation and spent 4 days in a coma on life support. so every day is a good day.:):):) |
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06/11/2009 11:42:48 PM · #397 |
Originally posted by SDW:
Originally posted by vawendy:
Originally posted by BrianR:
Just back from the Drs, all clear for swine, but a good dose of viral influenza, Remedy: drink plenty of beer (fluids) Plenty of rest (let the partner do all the work) oh! and take 1 penicilin tablet 1 hour befor food for the next 7 days. Would not wish this on my worst enemy.:(:( |
but what does penicillin do for viral?! |
Since BrianR is offline I try to answer that with what the doctor told me. It is to prevent phenomena from setting in. Along with other bacterial infections that can be triggered by influenza. |
Touche!!! |
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07/12/2009 10:15:34 AM · #398 |
Just to revive a slightly old thread... it looks like the Swine flu is not going away and I do have to wonder if things are getting worse?
This is an article about a healthy young individual who just died from it :(
Swine Flu in Indiana |
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07/12/2009 03:24:34 PM · #399 |
We just had the first case of a healthy individual die here in the UK, at a hospital about 3 miles from here!!!
Batten down the hatches!!!! |
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07/12/2009 08:18:18 PM · #400 |
Disclaimer: I am by no means a medical professional. My information is learned through someone else and as I know more about computer viruses than I do real viruses I am sure there is something lost in translation. Any medical professional that reads this and disagrees speak up.
Originally posted by colorcarnival:
Just to revive a slightly old thread... it looks like the Swine flu is not going away and I do have to wonder if things are getting worse?
This is an article about a healthy young individual who just died from it :(
Swine Flu in Indiana |
Oh it is getting worse no doubt about it. People kept saying, "well it should be gone by flu season" and "the media really blew that whole swine flu thing out of proportion." It is just massing its troops for "flu" season. We have nowhere near the medicine for what magnitude this could potentially be at. My wife is going to one of the best pharmacy schools in the nation (top 3) and her professors have talked about this when it came out. Here are the two things that make me think the most:
1) The virus is always mutating. Every person it jumps to. With the vaccines they have tried to guess what the virus will be by "flu" season. Last season they missed by a fairly large margin. The virus had mutated faster than predicted and it doesn't show signs of slowing which means predicting what vaccine to make will be almost impossible. And when they can make a fairly good guess it will be way to late to get it out en masse.
2) The harsh thing about the flu virus is that unlike most other sicknesses which kill in a U shaped curve with age being on the x axis (kills young and old better than middle age) influenza actually has a W shaped curve. This means that people with really healthy immune systems die disproportionately when compared to people with mediocre immune systems. Why? If influenza doesn't kill you it can make your immune system attack your body thinking your own cells are the enemy. You end up killing yourself. Think of it this way, if I had a pistol, and you had a nuke, who would win a war? You. Which side would you want to be on if you knew there was a 50% of friendly fire? Much harder question.
You need to be very conscious of this everyday. If you get symptoms that seem like you have influenza, especially a fever, you see a doctor. Take handy wipes with you. A lot of stores actually have hand wipe stations in the front so you can wipe down your carts. I have seen this at Toys R Us and Rainbow. Cover your mouth when you cough, wash your hands, do all you can to stay healthy and not spread the virus. Simms is right in my opinion. Batten down the hatches. I think it is going to be a dreadful winter.
Now please reread the disclaimer on the top :)
Message edited by author 2009-07-12 20:19:15. |
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