Mysterious U.S. Swine Flu Probe Widens as Mexico Finds Swine Flu *updated*

Current Argentina H1N1 confirmed death toll is now 197 http://(link tracking not allowed)/A7b4q

Current Chile H1N1 confirmed death toll is now 68 http://(link tracking not allowed)/nKzRl

Current worldwide H1N1 confirmed death toll is 1,071http://(link tracking not allowed)/1jgIb

Last Friday, the H1N1 worldwide death toll was 837. It is now 1,071, an increase of 234 deaths.



[edit on 24-7-2009 by JBA2848]

Suffolk reports 7th death related to swine flu

A seventh death associated with swine flu in Suffolk County was reported Friday.

The victim is the ninth on Long Island - and the first on the East End, health officials said.

The latest victim, a man between the ages of 25 and 35 from the Town of East Hampton, died Thursday, the county health department said.

"The man had a serious underlying medical condition and was admitted to the hospital with a fever and pneumonia on July 10," Suffolk health commissioner Dr. Humayun Chaudhry said in a statement. "He later tested positive" for swine flu.
.

Mandatory influenza vaccination?

The New York State Hospital Planning and Review Council has passed a regulation that could mandate influenza vaccination of all healthcare workers despite strong opposition from the New York Nurses Association. While I am an avid proponent of influenza vaccination for healthcare workers, believe that hospitals should make every effort to remove barriers to vaccination, and dutifully receive the vaccine every year myself, I remain conflicted about mandating the vaccine. I usually don't have trouble forming an opinion about most aspects of infection prevention and control, but this is one issue that I can't seem to resolve.

Nurses Association Opposes Mandatory Flu Shots for Health Workers

NEW YORK, NY (07/23/2009)(readMedia)-- Speaking today at a meeting of the New York State Hospital Planning and Review Council, the New York State Nurses Association strongly opposed a regulation that would require every healthcare worker in the state to be immunized for influenza.

The council later adopted the proposal as an emergency rule that could go into effect before this winter's flu season. The rule affects all healthcare personnel, both paid and unpaid, who interact with patients in hospitals, diagnostic and treatment centers, certified home health agencies, long-term healthcare programs, AIDS home care programs, licensed home care services, and hospices.

In its testimony, the Nurses Association called the council's action a "scorched earth" approach. "While we encourage nurses to be immunized for the flu, we do not agree that nurses should be required to get immunizations as a condition of employment," said Eileen Avery, RN, associate director of the association's Education, Practice & Research Program.
.

So what does it say when the nurse who wants to give you a shot refuse to take it herself.


[edit on 24-7-2009 by JBA2848]

Copper Can Help In The Battle Against Influenza A H1N1, Says Scientist

ScienceDaily (July 24, 2009) — A leading microbiologist from the University of Southampton has told a conference that his research has found copper is effective in inhibiting the influenza A H1N1 virus.

Copper appears to have broad spectrum antiviral activity because it is also effective, not only against RNA-based influenza, but also against DNA-based adenovirus 40/41 which causes gastrointestinal infections.
.

Eaton County Man Dies From H1N1 Virus

H1N1 starting to once again make it's rounds.

Officials tell us an Eaton County man has passed away from the virus.

Officials aren't releasing the man's name or age at this time, they do say he is the 9th person in the state to die from the virus.

Michigan

Fourth person dies of swine flu in Hawaii

A fourth person in Hawaii has died from swine flu, state health officials announced today.

The Department of Health has confirmed novel H1N1 influenza infection in an adult male in his early 50s who died on July 19 at a Big Island hospital. As with the three previous Hawaii deaths, health officials said he had underlying medical conditions. They will not release further information, citing health privacy laws.

The federal Centers of Disease Control and Prevention also announced today that Hawaii has had 1,424 confirmed cases of swine flu.

More than 300 people nationwide have died of the swine flu, according to the CDC.
.

Novel H1N1 flu activity continues at unusual levels

Jul 24, 2009 (CIDRAP News) – Pandemic H1N1 influenza activity decreased for the fourth consecutive week, though the percentage of deaths from pneumonia and influenza rose a bit above the epidemic threshold, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.

Pneumonia and influenza deaths, tracked through the 122-Cities Mortality Reporting System, were at 6.7%, which is slightly above the 6.5% baseline

Greece reports first 'serious' swine flu case

ATHENS, Greece -- Greece has recorded its first serious case of the H1N1 flu, a 33-year-old man hospitalised in intensive care with pneumonia symptoms, the health ministry announced on Tuesday (July 21st). So far, Greece has reported more than 300 cases, but there have been no fatalities.

Meanwhile in Tirana, the Public Health Institute said on Wednesday that three sailors from the Philippines have tested positive for the H1N1 flu. They are at a hospital in the port city of Durres. On Tuesday, Albania confirmed its first swine flu case, in a 20-year old student in Gjirokastra. (Kathimerini, Ethnos, Express, Eleftherotypia, Ta Nea, Vima, Top News, News 24 - 22/07/09; ANA-MPA, In.news - 21/07/09)
.

First death from H1N1 virus in Long Beach

Health officials just received confirmation of the first fatality in Long Beach due to the H1N1 influenza virus (previously known as swine flu). The patient was a man in his mid-20’s with an underlying medical condition who became ill in late June, was hospitalized, but died of complications in early July.

In the last three weeks, 15 other residents of Long Beach have been reported as hospitalized due to pandemic H1N1, and more than 73 total cases have been reported in Long Beach since the start of the outbreak.

After an initial decline in disease activity in late May and early June, H1N1 reports have been increasing throughout the state during the last 5 weeks, and disease activity remains high and widespread. Statewide, there have been more than 400 hospitalizations and more than 60 deaths due to pandemic H1N1.
.

Brazil confirms 4 more A/H1N1 flu deaths

Brazil's health authorities on Friday confirmed four new deaths of the A/H1N1 flu, bringing the death toll to 33, twice more than in the past five days, Xinhua reported.

The newly confirmed victims, all from Sao Paulo state in southeastern Brazil, included a four-year-old girl and a 58-year-old man from the state's capital city Sao Paulo. The child had been suffering from asthma and bronchiolitis while the man had serious liver problems, which helped worsen their disease.

The other two victims were both women from the city of Campinas. One of them had been seven months pregnant and the baby was saved.

Sao Paulo state has the highest death toll in the country with 16 victims, followed by Rio Grande do Sul state with 11, Rio de Janeiro state with five, and Parana state with one.

Altogether seven children and four pregnant women were among the A/H1N1 flu deaths in Brazil.

A/H1N1 flu death toll in Chile hits 79

SANTIAGO, Jul. 24, 2009 (Xinhua News Agency) -- The Chilean Institute of Public Health (ISP) reported Friday that the country's A/H1N1 influenza death toll rose to 79.

The latest ISP report said the total of infected patients in the country reached 11,641, of which 8,171 received private assistance and 3,470 were treated by the public sector.

The report said there was an important reduction in the number of cases last week, adding that only the regions of Arica, Parinacota and Valparaiso continued showing an upward trend.
.

Hospital intensive care units 'will overflow with swine flu victims'

The swine flu pandemic could overwhelm hospital intensive care beds, especially in children’s units, doctors warned last night.
Demand for critical care beds could hugely outstrip supply at the peak of the epidemic, expected in the next few months.
The pressure on the NHS was dramatically highlighted by the plight of Sharon Pentleton, 26, fighting for her life in a Stockholm hospital where she was flown because of a lack of specialist NHS beds.
Experts warn that as the pandemic peaks, facilities for children are likely to become ‘quickly exhausted’.

Across the whole of England, demand for beds could be 60 per cent above the number available, with hospitals on the South-East coast, in the South-West, East of England and East Midlands likely to be worst hit, with demand outstripping supply by 130 per cent in some areas.
Intensive care specialists are particularly concerned because the NHS already operates to capacity in intensive care most days even without a pandemic.

The UK has fewer intensive care beds per head – just 4.5 per 100,000 people – than most other European countries, the U.S. and Canada.

Although the NHS has plans to set up temporary facilities and cancel routine hospital surgery, it is feared demand for beds and specialist ventilator equipment for victims finding it difficult to breathe unaided will still outstrip supply.

I thought I would share this link...

It was just posted to Comcast Headline News less than a hour ago...

It says "Swine Flu could hit up to 40 percent in the U.S."...........

It says several hundred thousand could die...Twice as many as the normal seasonal flu....

The WHO says over the next two years from 90,000 to several hundred thousand could die......

Here is the link.......everyone should take a look for themselves....

www.comcast.net...


I am sure things are going to get really nasty....IMHO.....

Spain announces 5th death of A/H1N1 flu

MADRID, July 24. (Xinhua) -- A 45-year-old Algerian man died of A/H1N1 flu, the Spanish Ministry of Health announced on Friday, bringing the country's total flu deaths to five.

The victim, who lived in Alicante province on the east coast of the country, died on July 20 as he was being transferred to a hospital. He was confirmed dead from the A/H1N1 flu virus four days later.

The ministry said the victim had been suffering from severe underlying health problems, including hypertension and kidney disease, and had been undergoing dialysis in the past 16 years.

First H1N1 positive patient dies

A six-year-old girl who tested positive for H1N1 has died, making her the first patient to succumb to the strain of the flu virus, although a health official said the virus could not be solely blamed for her death.

Director General of Disease Control and Environmental Health, Tjandra Yoga Aditama, confirmed on Saturday that the girl had died on Wednesday at a hospital, where she had been receiving treatment for three days.

Tjandra said the patient had suffered severe pneumonia. She was admitted to the hospital with fever, coughs and respiratory problems that worsened even after she received medical treatment.

“The impact of the virus has remained insignificant so far. It can cause death, although the ratio stands at a low 0.4 percent. However, we have to stay alert,” he was quoted as saying by kompas.com.

He called on the public to live a healthy life and take medicine, wear masks and avoid outings when displaying flu symptoms.

Only one month after the first two suspected H1N1 cases were reported on June 24, the Health Ministry has so far recorded 343 cases of infection across the country..

Jakarta

Child's flu death sparks race tensions in Australia

SYDNEY: A doctor was evacuated from an Aboriginal community in Australia's remote north amid race tensions following the death of a four-year-old
girl believed to be suffering swine flu, reports said today.

The child was sent home from the six-bed Doomadgee town hospital three times, despite having a fever and breathing difficulties, before finally being admitted in a serious condition, her family said.

The hospital's only doctor refused to transfer her to the larger hospital in nearby Mount Isa and she died in her grandmother's arms late Thursday, they said, accusing staff of racism.

"If she were a little white child the first day she went to the hospital she would have been flown out to Mount Isa," her grandfather, Athol Walden, told The Australian newspaper.

"Some of them we get here are racist, a lot of the people who work in our community."

His wife, Katrina added: "I think she was neglected because she was a little black girl."

Test results released today showed she was not in fact suffering from A(H1N1) influenza, and the cause of death would be determined by the coroner, the state's chief medical officer said.

First H1N1 death in the Cayman Islands

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands -- Late on Friday afternoon, CAREC’s lab in Trinidad confirmed that a 31-year-old male resident of the Cayman Islands, who died this week, had H1N1 flu, commonly known as swine flu.

Health officials, who have been in contact with the family from the start, have met with the family and shared this information with them.

"On behalf of government, I again offer condolences to the family, for their loss," said Health Minister, Mark Scotland.

"We all hoped that no one in Cayman would be severely affected by H1N1. But this unfortunate death shows that as a country, we face the same challenges in managing this illness, as do other countries around the world. Sadly, it is a fact that persons with underlying medical conditions, such as the young man who passed away, are susceptible to serious complications, and sometimes death," he added.

Health officials will provide further details on H1N1 in Cayman at a press briefing on Monday.

.

Swine flu may have claimed first 'healthy' Kiwi victim

A 27-year-old man who died of suspected swine flu on Friday may be the first New Zealand victim of the pandemic who did not have any other medical problems.

Stephen Russell Lavelle, an electrician from Invercargill, was flown to Auckland Hospital last week and died early on Friday.

The Ministry of Health was yesterday working to confirm whether Lavelle died of swine flu, and whether he had any other health problems.

Spokesman Peter Abernethy said this should be confirmed in the next few days.

But one of Lavelle's relatives claimed he was struck down by swine flu despite having no other medical problems. The relative started a discussion thread on TradeMe message boards just hours after Lavelle died, saying she was in shock because Lavelle was a healthy person who had not even caught a cold this winter.

"How does a previously healthy young man of not even 30 years old die of swine flu? . . . He was in hospital a week, and they couldn't do a darn thing."

Seriousness of virus can't be downplayed says patient who spent 5 weeks in a coma

When Dale Altrows showed up at the ER with fever, blurry vision and a dry cough, doctors weren't sure what he had.

Altrows arrived at the Jewish General Hospital on May 17, about the same time as H1N1 cases leveled off in Mexico, considered the epicentre of the virus, and World Health Organization experts warned of a potential worldwide outbreak.

Officials at the Jewish weren't taking any chances. They suspected Altrows had pneumonia, but they also tested him for swine flu. Twice.

The first test came back negative but Altrows's health deteriorated rapidly. The infection in his lung took over. He needed help breathing. His family was warned that he might not make it.

A second test confirmed H1N1 virus. "I don't remember anything after that," Altrows said.

He awoke in ICU five weeks later - freaked out because he couldn't walk or talk. "He was in a medically induced coma," said his partner, Carl Olssen.

Now that he's home, Altrows says that swine flu fears are no hype even though stories of infection no longer make front-page headlines.

"The seriousness of the flu should not be downplayed," said Altrows, who initially went to a hospital in LaSalle, where he was prescribed antibiotics. He landed at the Jewish two days later when his symptoms worsened.

Altrows's family filled him in on what had happened. He was placed in isolation and heavily sedated.

Despite getting doses of Tamiflu, his organs started shutting down.

His kidneys failed, blood clots filled his lungs, and he needed a tracheostomy, a surgical procedure to create an opening through the neck into the windpipe, to breath.

"Doctors were very clear about whether he would live or die," Olssen said. "They told me he might die and he wasn't in the clear for a long time." It was a very difficult time, Olssen recalled, "but I was struck by one thing: The kindness of the doctors, nurses and orderlies." The majority of people infected with swine flu have mild illnesses that don't require medical intervention, said Paul Warshawsky, a specialist in intensive care at the Jewish.

"But this was at the beginning. No one knew what was happening in Mexico and why it was so severe," he said.

Most people who died of swine flu had pre-existing medical conditions. Altrows had asthma.

Altrows had developed acute respiratory distress syndrome, a severe inflammation of the lungs that has a mortality rate 40 per cent, Warshawsky said.

"He came sick and got sicker quickly. We were able to turn that around. A lot of nurses worked very hard on him, so we're pleased," he said.

He was put on a special ventilator that vibrates the lungs and provides the equivalent of three to 15 breaths per second, then surgery to his windpipe.

A month later, doctors opened his chest to remove stagnant blood. That's when he started to improve.

The Quebec public health department is reporting 488 hospitalizations because of swine flu and 17 deaths.
.

A month later, doctors opened his chest to remove stagnant blood. That's when he started to improve. And here in the US how many people can afford the medical bills for 5 weeks on a ventilatoor and surgery where they open your chest to remove stagnant blood.

Sixth Queenslander with swine flu dies

A MAN in his 30s has become Queensland's sixth person with swine flu to die.

The man died in a Brisbane northside hospital late yesterday.

Queensland Health said he was in a vulnerable group, and will not be releasing any further details at this stage.

.

Queensland Health confirmed that as of midday today, there were 78 patients in hospital in Queensland with human swine flu.

Twenty-one of those were in intensive care.