Flu Epidemic: H3N2 Cases And Child Deaths Prompt CDC To Issue Health Alert

H3N2
flu-epidemic-h3n2-cases-and-child-dea ths-prompt-cdc-to-issue-health-alert/

A flu epidemic has been declared by the CDC. H3N2 has swept across 22 states and claimed the lives of at least 15 children. The mutated strain of the flu virus has reportedly caused 2,500 hospitalizations around the United States. H3N2 typically affects young children, people age 65 and older, and teenagers.

Although the CDC has admitted that the existing flu vaccine does not prevent the mutant H3N2 flu strain, health agency officials feel that the vaccine “should” still provide some type of protection against the illness.

Well it looks like the mutant is here. This is just normal it seems to me but they did issue warnings for this strain because no current vaccine is out yet. We always lose a hefty number of people to the flu. If anyone has other info that shows this is not just how it goes then please post what your info. Do you think this will get very bad? How will this alert effect most of us? Is it odd that this strain has been around for yrs but we have no vaccine for it?

We have a flu bug going around here.

Does anyone know the symptoms of this one?

Some people have been hit hard, right now I have a sort of head cold, not bad at all, but others are extremely miserable.

Me and my 2 yr old son both have a stuffy head and a cough from hell here, doc said his lungs are clear though...

a reply to: deadeyedick

At least 2 people I know got the flu and it was very bad, they both got shots and we all know that a flu shot really is hit or miss, I'd like to know how many people are getting the flu that had shots as opposed to the number of people infected that did not.

It's bad this year and we haven't hit the worst part of flu season yet. Despite what the manufacturer claims there is a shortage of Tamiflu. We haven't had any for about two weeks and there hasn't been a single pharmacy in the county that's had it for a week. According to my wholesaler it's on backorder until February.

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

The flu symptoms from the H3N2 viruses are no different that the common flu, Rattay -director of the state's Division of Public Health- said, ranging from fever to muscle aches to respiratory issues. But they are potentially riskier among the elderly, young children, pregnant women, people with asthma and other breathing problems, and people with compromised immune systems.

Source

Here's a list from another site, seems like regular flu symptoms:

Symptoms of influenza illness include: fever or feeling feverish/chills (not everyone with influenza will have a fever), sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches, fatigue (very tired), and some people may experience vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults. Severe illness, such as pneumonia and respiratory failure, which can be fatal, and worsening of an existing chronic health conditions have been reported with influenza as well.

H3N2 Details

a reply to: deadeyedick

There is a vaccine for this strain. It was included in this year's shot. The problem is that every year there is some genetic drift to be expected within strains. Scientists have to anticipate this drift when prepping the year's vaccine. This year they got it wrong.

a reply to: phinubian

The flu shot does not cause the flu. One simply needs to look at the stats to see this is the case. The vast majority of flu shots are given in October. Most flu cases occur in January. Flu has an incubation period of about 48 hours.

It seems strange to me that I have been in contact with the same "patient zero" that infected my old lady and another friend at a party a couple weeks ago. I got a just a little sick, hardly at all, but my old lady and our friend (and many others in our area) are in bad shape.

I never get the flu shot and I haven't been sick at all in years. I used to get sick two or three times a year when the kids were at home and in school.

I haven't been getting out at all much lately though, but even when I worked at the campground and cleaned toilets everyday, I never got sick much.

I get no shots either cause i do not want the flu in me and i trust nobody very much.
I got the flu a couple weeks ago first time in yrs. What i had seemed to act very quick and be very agressive compared to other times i was sick. the feeling of being right on the edge of relapsing seemed to linger very long.

originally posted by: Xcalibur254
a reply to: phinubian



The flu shot does not cause the flu. One simply needs to look at the stats to see this is the case. The vast majority of flu shots are given in October. Most flu cases occur in January. Flu has an incubation period of about 48 hours.

that is not technically correct but i think you ment to say the flu givin in shots should not effect one the same as just catching it on your own. The shots often contain live virus.

a reply to: deadeyedick

The only flu vaccine that contains a live virus is FluMist. This is sent almost exclusively to pediatricians. The major brands like, Afluria and Fluzone, are not live vaccines. That said the stats speak for themselves. Most vaccines are given in October. Most flu cases occur in January. The flu has a 48 hour incubation period. Ergo the flu vaccine does not cause cases of the flu. If it did we would see most cases in October.

You are clueless. Flu shots are offered beginning in October. Where are your stats regarding most people receive them in Oct? We give them at our hospital around the same time but they are also given throughout flu season which "officially" lasts till may. The flu shot may not cause the flu but it can certainly affect a person's immune functioning enough to make them more susceptible to other bacteria and viruses that can cause sickness. Hence why many people get sick shortly after receiving it. I quit getting the flu shot years ago and have been sick less and less. Last few years I've rarely gotten a cold and the time I did symptoms were mild.

The flu shot is completely worthless. The most important reason officially for getting it is to protect the elderly and kids. Thing is the research (cochrane collaboration) has shown it to have zero impact on the mortality and morbidity of older people. Same goes for pneuomovax.

a reply to: MiddleClassWhiteBoy

The numbers come from the fact that I have to keep track of the number of flu shots we give as soon as we receive them in August. Last year I even posted my numbers by month compared to number of Tamiflu scripts by month. Our flu shots for January were probably in the single digits while our Tamiflu scripts were in the double digits.

Until the flu started hitting hard over the past week or two we were giving maybe one or two flu shots a week. It wasn't until the past few days that people started looking for them again.

a reply to: Xcalibur254

live or dead it is still a virus and like the other poster said it does not seem to help.
the claim you made about the flu shots this year covering h3n2 is false. it was never in the mix


your data collection method is faulty. the shots do make people sick often but usually it is not as bad as the flu itself unless there are complicated circumstances

a reply to: deadeyedick

No. The vaccine every year contains strains of H1N1, H3N2, and at least one type of influenza B. The problem is that within these strains there are genetic variations. They guessed wrong on the variation of H3N2 this year.

In regards to the flu vaccine making you sick you're also wrong. Once again, if the vaccine caused any kind of illness then one would expect October to be a busy month for doctors and pharmacies. This isn't the case. Things don't really start picking up until middle of November.

While it's true that a vaccine will cause a response from the immune system, the vaccine itself will not cause illness. If the person who gets the vaccine is already coming down with something or they don't practice standard illness prevention techniques then they run the risk of getting sick for about 2 weeks.

a reply to: Xcalibur254

i do not know enough to respont to your first paragraph without researching more but the rest is i know just word play.
The fact is that usually some pretty girl holds the needle and pricks you then within days you feel much worse.

originally posted by: deadeyedick
a reply to: Xcalibur254

live or dead it is still a virus and like the other poster said it does not seem to help.

That raises an interesting ontological question, for a couple reasons. Is a dead virus still a virus? Since viruses are not traditionally alive, they're all dead. "Alive" is not a property of viruses, but it might be said they are "active." The usual terminology is to refer to the particles in the flu shot as "inactivated viruses," though one could call them "former viruses," "corpses of destroyed viruses," "nonvirulent matter," etc.

As for whether or not it helps, there is a general consensus that it reduces the number of hospitalizations and deaths. Its effectiveness in 2012-2013 was 49% according to one recent study.

the claim you made about the flu shots this year covering h3n2 is false. it was never in the mix

The 2014-2015 vaccine included A/Texas/50/2012 (H3N2). A majority of tested specimens, however, match A/Switzerland/9715293/2013 (H3N2). This variant was selected for the Southern Hemisphere vaccine, so they probably won't be hit as hard, all else being equal.

your data collection method is faulty. the shots do make people sick often but usually it is not as bad as the flu itself unless there are complicated circumstances

I wouldn't say flu shots make people sick "often." The research shows a very low incidence of adverse effects.

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

I clean peoples homes and seldom get sick, I figured it was the cleaning products

a reply to: Stormdancer777 yep any antibacterial in the system at time of exposure will greatly reduce chances and effects of sickness of viral and bacterial type.