H1N1 kills 6 people, leaves 14 critically ill in Texas

HOUSTON – Health officials say there have been six confirmed deaths from H1N1 in the Houston area recently. That includes the four deaths at Conroe Regional Medical Center.
At least 14 people have become critically ill in Harris, Montgomery and Jefferson counties, including the four patients at Conroe Regional Medical Center.
This is the same strain of H1N1 that caused a pandemic in 2009. Doctors have been seeing hundreds of new cases recently in Texas and nationwide. In fact, H1N1 is one of the viruses included in this year’s flu shot.
Health officials from all over the region spent Thursday afternoon in a conference call comparing notes about all the cases. They suspect that all of the cases at the Conroe Regional Medical Center are H1N1,

H1N1 kills 6 people, leaves 14 critically ill in Texas

I did a search and didn't see anything on this. Everything was from 09.
The hospital where these 6 people died is only a few minutes from me. People aged 41 to 60 from what I've heard.
It's H1N1 (swine flu) that was the cause of the 1918 epidemic. I don't know if that was a more virulent form of H1N1 because everyone says it's common. Just a lot of people to die in one hospital of the same thing in a few weeks. The main thing seems to be that it's mostly mature (not old or young) adults who are the ones hit hard. A strong immune system seems to be a problem with this flu. The reaction to the flu is so strong it kills the patient.

No further details to add at this point but it bears watching.

Residents on edge after Montgomery Co. flu deaths

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Multiple deaths in Montgomery County have caused concern across the area that a deadly flu strain could be to blame.


There are flu patients in almost every hospital. Texas Children's Hospital, for example, has six children with confirmed flu. Their infectious disease doctor calls it a normal flu season. But you can keep your family out of the hospital.

In Houston, 1,300 people have gone to hospital ERs with flu-like symptoms. Eighty-seven percent of those who did have the flu had swine flu, also called H1N1.

In Montgomery County two cases of swine flu had been confirmed. Nine people who had severe flu symptoms are having their lab tests repeated by the CDC.

Donna Kinser wonders if her husband might have died of the flu. Greg Kinser had heart bypass surgery at Conroe regional Medical Center and was getting better. But then he got very sick.

"I'd just like to know," said Donna. "I know it won't bring him back, but I don't understand how he got so bad so fast."

Texas has more flu cases than almost every other state. Experts at Baylor's Influenza Center say the flu season hasn't peaked yet and it's not too late to get a flu shot.

More going on. abclocal.go.com.../health&id=9366835

My younger bro caught H1N1 during the outbreak.

He had high fever for a long time but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

We were all freaked out, tried to quarantine ourselves away from him but it wasn't really that crazy.

My folks taking care of him did not catch the virus at all, they were literally next to him 24/7.

He was sent home with some special type of syrup that was exclusively designed for H1N1 strain. They said the medication was scarce and hard to get at the time because it was running out of stock.

So anyway, long story short, he got it, we freaked out, he was taken into the hospital, they solved the problem with a take home medicine.

We were all living in the same house, no one caught the virus besides him.

Yeah,
Didn't see this in the search.
Already a thread.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

truthseeker84
My younger bro caught H1N1 during the outbreak.

So anyway, long story short, he got it, we freaked out, he was taken into the hospital, they solved the problem with a take home medicine.

We were all living in the same house, no one caught the virus besides him.

Yeah,
Kids seem to do better with it. Their immune system seems to be less severely reactive.

I know people get it. Just seems to be a lot of dead folks in one spot at one time for the flu.
Plus, it's in my community so I'm a bit more interested I guess.

reply to post by badgerprints


My thread was only about the "mystery flu like illness". Not the H1N1 outbreak.
No reason to disregard your thread now that they have identified the illness. No more mystery. lol

I think it's pretty messed up that it was not identified sooner if this is in fact the same bug. You would think that H1N1 would be one of the first things they look for.

Neysa
reply to post by badgerprints

 

My thread was only about the "mystery flu like illness". Not the H1N1 outbreak.
No reason to disregard your thread now that they have identified the illness. No more mystery. lol

I think it's pretty messed up that it was not identified sooner if this is in fact the same bug. You would think that H1N1 would be one of the first things they look for.

edit on 12/20/2013 by Neysa because: errr

THEY WERE LOOKING!

Nail on head.
They missed it in 13 out of 14 cases because they were using the quick diagnosis kits. They don't seem to work on H1N1 very well.

I haven't ever had a flu shot. My immune systems pretty strong. I get sick quick and run high fevers that burn a virus down in a day or two.

The problem is that the strong immune system seems to be a cause of death with H1N1.
After hearing about this I got a flu shot yesterday.
Hope it takes before I catch this crap.

I hate hospital food.

reply to post by badgerprints


I worry more about catching that antibiotic resistant flesh eating crap you catch in the hospital than H1N1. I'll have to be bleeding from my eyes to go to the hospital.

Is the current flu shot (vaccine) a live virus vaccine or a killed/attenuated vaccine?

Lazarus Short
Is the current flu shot (vaccine) a live virus vaccine or a killed/attenuated vaccine?

Attenuated from what I read about it. Just dead virus so your body will detect it and form antibodies.
I got the standard injection.

They also have a type that you swab in your nose and a "enhanced" shot for people over 65.
I don't know the details on either of those.

Neysa
reply to post by badgerprints

 

I worry more about catching that antibiotic resistant flesh eating crap you catch in the hospital than H1N1. I'll have to be bleeding from my eyes to go to the hospital.

Yep,
They got some nasty stuff now. I avoid hospitals. I'm also going to shop and get gas down in Houston for the next few weeks. Going to avoid the local population as much as possible until my flu shot kicks in.

If you read about the 1918 flu, it showed up as a nasty but localized bug that then seemed to become a more mild version that spread out like a regular flu.

It was it's later mutant form that showed up and was the real killer.

This could fit that pattern. The original outbreak in Mexico seemed very virulent and nasty, but as it spread out it seemed to lose its virulence and become just a nasty bug.

Now, are we seeing the outbreak of the real killer?

Thing is that if that is so, you wanted to catch the first version because it actually did the best job of inoculating people against the later virus. You also don't want to be a young healthy person with a strong immune system.

Keep in mind that we didn't have flu vaccines back then, so I don't know what it would mean, if anything, that this year's cocktail carries a strain of H1N1. My husband who works in pharma (animal pharma, but they produce vaccines and the principles are exactly the same) says based on this, he will be getting the flu shot which he never does because the H1N1 markers on it will at least prepare his immune system to recognize an H1N1 type bug so it will have less chance of going overkill and killing him through over zealous immune response (which is what killed most of the young healthy adult Spanish Flu victims).

Normally, he never gets the flu vaccine because he, like I, prefers to have his immune system tested, but if this is the next Spanish Flu type bug, he would rather not test it in this way. Cytokine cascades are not a pleasant way to die. This way, we may still get it, but it should just remain a very, very bad flu.

This IS NOT the Spanish Flu. Seriously people. Get a grip. I like to be alert and informed but that is some serious fear mongering.

The Spanish flu, also known as la grippe, La Gripe Española, or La Pesadilla, was an unusually severe and deadly strain of avian influenza, a viral infectious disease, that killed some 50 to 100 million people worldwide over about a year in 1918 and 1919.

Does anyone here actually read anything or do any research or do you all just read headlines and move on? Is there something in the water causing ADD? I am for real how on earth do you get Spanish Flu from this?

For one we have a small herd immunity due to this already causing a pandemic in the southern states. Which is a good thing. Also lets say this was the Spanish Flu (which it's far from it), we would have an even greater herd immunity to it.

Matter of fact Id prefer the Spanish Flu over Swine Flu. I probably have a genetic immunity. I don't think I do to Swine Flu as its a novel virus. Which is why it's serious. However it's not "OMG WE ARE ALL GONNA DIE" serious. Flu's usually have a very low mortality rate this one just makes you wish you were dead.

reply to post by Pimpintology


No, it's not the Spanish Flu.

But that doesn't mean it isn't following a similar pattern to it. Initial nasty outbreak that leads to a milder pandemic that does indeed leave some herd immunity. Then a later outbreak of a much more virulent form that has a much higher mortality rate because people's immune systems haven't been exposed yet.

Given the high rates of travel in the world, this form would already be spreading itself.

It's still just a flu, but one that carries the nasty risk of provoking your own immune system into killing you.

reply to post by badgerprints


H1N1 is now considered a "seasonal flu" and accounts for most flu cases around the world this flu season. The pandemic strain was more deadly than many believe but most people now have some immunity. Thing is, it's not yet proved that H1N1 killed these people.

... the MCHD said further tests now show that two of the survivors were infected with the 2009 H1N1 virus and that further tests were under way to pinpoint the cause of the other infections.

Pimpintology
This IS NOT the Spanish Flu. Seriously people. Get a grip. I like to be alert and informed but that is some serious fear mongering.

I'm sorry.
Are we discussing the same thread?
I didn't see any mongering. Just people talking about the flu and deaths at the local hospital where I live.
I also remember pointing out that the 1918 flu was or might have been a more virulent strain.

Nobody any where in this thread pointed out that we're all gonna die.

And FYI the OP headline is direct from the article.

Maybe you should consider getting a grip.

Heck, we don't even know for sure if the culprit here is H1N1. Although I'd almost rather it is because then we have seen it before, and we do know it is only the flu albeit a nasty one.

ketsuko
Heck, we don't even know for sure if the culprit here is H1N1. Although I'd almost rather it is because then we have seen it before, and we do know it is only the flu albeit a nasty one.

Why do you say that?

HOUSTON – Health officials say there have been six confirmed deaths from H1N1 in the Houston area recently.

It's in the OP
Along with links to the entire article.
Another article in second comment also notes H1N1.

www.houstonchronicle.com...

Mystery surrounds flu-like illness that has killed 4
Doctors hoping tests will offer clues in recent fatalities

Dathany Reed had flu-like symptoms when he was admitted in late November to Conroe Regional Medical Center. Hours later, he was on life support.

And to this day, his death remains a mystery.

So do six other recent cases at the hospital in Montgomery County, including three additional deaths. All had flu-like symptoms. And on Wednesday, doctors said an eighth patient with similar symptoms was diagnosed with what was once known as swine flu but categorized as H1N1. This variation of the strain first appeared in 2009.

When Dathany Reed was taken to Conroe Regional Medical Center, his mother said, doctors found his lungs filling with blood and his organs disintegrating. (Sidebar picture caption)

This might have been considered fear mongering "lungs filling with blood and organs disintegrating" as it was a caption to a sidebar photo from the story above.

BUT,
It actually took place.
And yes. They have confirmed several cases of H1N1 including at least 4 of the six flu deaths locally.

This is only anecdotal, but I've heard of at least two people dying of swine flu in east central Alabama just in the past few days. One I wasn't part of the conversation, but heard mention of swine flu and someone dying. The other a lady told me that 40ish otherwise healthy co-worker got swine flu and died rather quickly.

I got the worse flu of my life, in2009 right before h1n1entered the national spotlight. Hope its return is like a cheap sequel, and not a main attraction.