Swine Flu in Idaho (Boise, Meridian: cost, store, estimate)

[Mtn. States Resident]

Originally Posted by Mtn. States Resident

"Four Confirmed Cases of Swine Flu at Idaho Prison"

Four Confirmed Swine Flu Cases at Idaho Prison - KIVITV.COM | Boise. News, Breaking News, Weather and Sports-

According to a spokeswoman for the 1,805 bed prison:

" 'As part of precautionary measures, ' " she added, " 'all transports in and out of the facility are cancelled. Visitation, which is normally scheduled for Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, will be cancelled. No one will be allowed to enter the facility other than staff who are scheduled to work. Visitors and volunteers will not be able to access the facility during the lockdown.' "

I hope this works! Every other prison or group living, such as the Air Force Academy have started with a few then have gone to 100+ in about a week. The prisoners have already been exposed, at least those who have been in contact with these four. Whether or not they will be treated with a prophylactic anti-viral, I don't know. This could increase Idaho's A/H1N1 numbers greatly!

If you know of inmates or workers, please share what you know for them to be able to take what precautions they can. This is a bad situation which could get much worse.

MSR

It helps track the spread of infection to go back to the earlier post. Four inmates were A/H1N1 + on 07/21/09. On 07/25/09, that number has increased to 13.

I'm not clear if the 13 include the 4 reported earlier on not. If anyone knows, please post.


Idaho prison reports outbreak of swine flu | Spokesman.com | Jul 25, 2009

The Spokesman-Review had the most comprehensive story I could find.

A couple of important points from this article:

"The warden said he has no idea how the virus got into the prison. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, influenza can survive on surfaces for two to eight hours, spreading the disease."

"None of the inmates who contracted it have had complications. All have suffered high fevers that peaked on the third day, the warden said."

1. "Influenza can survive on surfaces for two to eight hours."

2. "All have suffered high fevers that peaked on the third day"

Probably important points to remember. Besides washing your hands, think of the surfaces too.

Good luck to those trying to contain this in the correctional center. Idaho follows outbreaks in prisons in several other states.

MSR

[Mtn. States Resident]

Where to start on A/H1N1 this past week. So much news.

Should I ask how you feel when the WHO admits the entire world will now be exposed to A/H1N1 and is starting to list numbers of anticipated infected
(2 billion), CDC stopping updates because states haven't kept data the same in every state, thus their information isn't uniform for all in the U.S.? NO KIDDING, DUH!).

From my understanding this is not an error on the CDC's part, rather what experience different states may have had, and perhaps some political pressure to not act too soon or aggressively to not slow the economy down further. Who really knows, except the when the CDC has to announce states didn't keep data the way they instructed....that is not a positive statement.

No, I had to wait to post until I saw some more encouraging news. So let me start here. U.S. clinical trials of H1N1 vaccines start next month! Yeah


U.S. Begins Human Testing of H1N1 Vaccines « Liveshots

Several headlines have said students at the U. of WI-Madison and Purdue were lined up to be screened for the trial. I suspect quotas to be reached soon.

So let's cheer for the good news, as there is so much that is discouraging, we have to take our positives where we can get them.

MSR

[Mtn. States Resident]

I'm sorry I can't post a public reference for this yet. I'm working on finding a way.........

If you know someone who has had Swine Flu (A/H1N1) and that person just can't seem to get beyond it, is chronically fatigued, or starting to spike new fevers again etc., encourage them to get back to their doctors ASAP.

What I will say, is the CDC, based on how many patients have been seriously ill or died from A/H1N1, has recently released new guidelines for Tamiflu dosing in certain patients.

It is very possible those who have continued to feel ill are indeed not over this infection yet. Consequently, they may have continued to infect others.

If you're not sure, I encourage you to error on the side of safety and caution. This is really new information, so some doctors may have to do some reading or make some phone calls. Nonetheless, for some patients who have had H1N1, this new guideline may help.

MSR

[Mtn. States Resident]

There is more information about which patients will get vaccinated first, when an H1N1 vaccine is available in the U.S.

I've chosen this headline and article on purpose. There is very educational information in it, most everyone I know doesn't want to increase anxiety in a pregnant woman, and I think KING 5 in Seattle did an overall great job of getting the right balance.

Pregnant ladies will be heading to the front of the line for vaccinations. You may want to reassure those women you know who are currently pregnant.

Speculation is there will be a series of injections. I've seen two (2 ) separate injections as the number mostly quoted for all people, not just pregnant women. Today, I saw three (3 ) listed for the first time. The trials should tell us more.

"Pregnant women high on list for H1N1 flu vaccine"

Pregnant women high on list for H1N1 flu vaccine | Health Link | Seattle News, Local News, Breaking News, Weather | KING5.com

I hope this information helps pregnant women and their families.

MSR

[Mtn. States Resident]

The CDC Advisory Committee listed their priority of citizens who should receive the H1N1 vaccine first.

U.S. Outlines Priority Groups to Get H1N1 Vaccine - WSJ.com

"The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a body that advises the federal government on vaccine matters, nearly unanimously voted to offer the new vaccine first to pregnant women, household contacts and caregivers of infants under six months old, health-care and emergency-services workers, children and young adults up to age 24, and people under 64 years old with underlying medical conditions."

If you read more there are explanations for most groups listed there. I found the "up to age 24" interesting. However, the rationale is college campsus and dorms, crowded classrooms etc. Makes sense to me. This is also the age group where totally healthy young adults are dying from A/H1N1, potentially due to lack of exposure to any epidemic or pandemic influenza like this previously.

Also, I'm glad to see patients with chronic underlying medical conditions under the age 64 will be near the front of the list.

Some may say what about senior citizens? See what the article says, but of the 302 deaths in the U.S. to date, most have NOT been senior citizens. Some experts are thinking seniors are partially protected from A/H1N1, due to prior exposures to other strains of H1N1. That may not be stated in this Wall Street Journal article, but has been mentioned in many places.

I hope this helps relieve some questions about who will get the vaccinations first.

MSR

[Mtn. States Resident]

I was going to post an article today from a news source that many in northern ID get their news. However, after reading the entire article, I couldn't.

The information the so-called expert gave is not as up-to-date as this thread, or at least the most current information is not being shared via that "news."

The U. of Pittsburgh's publication specifically found that A/H1N1 is thriving in the heat, thus why it is entering the deep lung tissue of humans and surviving, in some patients. It simply is NOT true that this particular virus is decreasing infection spread, due to heat. Check your local temperatures and check how many regional cases of A/H1N1 are in your area. That is one of two main features that makes this the "A"/H1N1 as is continuing to infect in heat. Otherwise, why are the south FL, pregnant women still getting infected? Shouldn't FL temperatures be warmer than say ND or MI?

Infection spread may be down right now, which is great. But, why are the schools that start in Aug. making such aggressive plans about mass infection in the students? Perhaps staying home if one is ill, being given Tamiflu prophylactically and being aware of the problem so one takes precautions have contributed just as much to the slowing of infection spread, if indeed that is the case. When the CDC states not all states collected information the same, thus they are ceasing to post updates, how do we know. UT stopped counting infections in early June, ID continues to count new infections. How does one make sense of infection spread in neighboring states when one state stopped counting about 7 weeks ago?

I don't want to be more specific about this news source. However, if I lived in the Panhandle, from what I've seen and read, some of the smaller newspapers have more accurate information than larger regional ones.

I'd encourage those with questions to always revert back the CDC at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ask your personal physician or check information given locally against other reputable national sources. Plus, anyone can research information about A/H1N1 and read what the latest thoughts are about infection spread and vulnerable populations.

Please think about those that give you news and how much effort they put into obtaining information. Is it the latest from today's meetings or decisions, or is it old data?

MSR

[Mtn. States Resident]

From the "Virulence Of Pandemic H1N1 Virus: K-State Study" in Medical News Today.

Virulence Of Pandemic H1N1 Virus: K-State Study

We may have to start to say, "zoonotic disease," when describing A/H1N1 and other viruses. Zoonotic, per Dr. Juergen Richt, a professor at K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine means diseases that can be transmitted from humans to animals and vice versa.

" 'Our strength at K-State is that we are very familiar with zoonotic diseases and we can contribute by working on models for animal and human diseases," Richt said. "This expertise is very critical now that an agent causing a pandemic flu in humans most likely originated in animal populations.' "

Dr. Richt and collaborators are developing diagnostic tests that will show when animals are infected with the H1N1 virus.

"The researchers also studied the virulence of two strains of the pandemic H1N1 virus in a nonhuman primate model as a way to predict how the strains would affect humans. Comparing an isolate from California with one from Mexico, Richt and his collaborators found that the California isolate was more virulent than the Mexico isolate. Both pandemic H1N1 viruses are more virulent than seasonal H1N1 flu viruses.

"With different isolates, there are different clinical outcomes," he said.


Wow, the California strain was more virulent (harder to get over, harder to contain, a more resistant virus so-to-speak) than the one obtained in Mexico.

"Pandemic H1N1 is another example of how important it is to work on the nexus of human and animal health," he (Dr. Richt) said. "

Gee, cleosmom, at least we know one veterinary medical school is going to examine and learn more about Zoonotic medicine, as some know a virus, if not other bugs, may infect humans after starting in animals.

I wonder if the DVMs read information like this. Perhaps I should rephrase that to say I wonder WHICH DVMs read information like this article? Despite the fact almost all deny any connection between animals and humans passing bugs to each other, The American Veterinary Medical Association journal continues to run a special section in each journal about influenza. Not only about H1N1, but Avian, Equine, Canine, Swine etc. influenzas for each species.

There are many livestock farmers in Idaho. I'd encourage all who have swine, in particular, to keep the link to the American Veterinary Medical Association in a favorites folder. It's under Public Health, sometimes, or on the front page sometimes. You can search for it at the site, if needed.

For those who earn their income, or a portion of their income from raising swine, I'd want to stay on top of this, if it were me in their shoes.

At least I've given you another reference to check.

Not picking on cleosmom here, she and I have had discussions of what various veterinarians have told us vs. our own clinical observations. Perhaps I should ask, do any of you think humans and especially companion animals (dogs and cats mostly) have the ability to become infected when they are around sick humans? As in infectious disease sick. Or, do you feel your dog and/or cat is safe from infectious disease even if humans are sick with a virus or other bug?

I would look forward to your thoughts, although I'm not expert about this. I, too, have to walk that fine line when in the DVM's office of who I do or don't say is sick when I take my canine in with flu-like symptoms.

I'm glad the veterinary community is contributing more to our overall knowledge.

What do you think?

MSR

[FamilyWeAre]

Hey Mtn. States Resident -

Thanks for all the info. I found a site that has been following the flu situation, even before he put up his site. He's been following the Avian flu for a long time, I guess.

He has lots of info, articles, videos, etc. and ideas how to stay healthy. Check it out: simplyyourhealth.wordpress.com

I'm so glad that people like you and he are sharing everything they find to help us all out in this trepidatious time.

-Family

[Mtn. States Resident]

Originally Posted by FamilyWeAre

Hey Mtn. States Resident -

Thanks for all the info. I found a site that has been following the flu situation, even before he put up his site. He's been following the Avian flu for a long time, I guess.

He has lots of info, articles, videos, etc. and ideas how to stay healthy. Check it out: simplyyourhealth.wordpress.com

I'm so glad that people like you and he are sharing everything they find to help us all out in this trepidatious time.

-Family

Dear Family,

You are welcome for what information, observations and any other personal thoughts I have about the A/H1N1 flu.

Checked out the website you posted. Quite a bit on there. Having limited time, I didn't read everything. However, I did spend some time on the history of H1N1 virus. Others may find it useful too.

Additionally, there seemed to be a number of other blogspots or links to additional information. I'm not sure that they are all dedicated to the 2009 outbreak of Swine Flu (A/H1N1) as I've attempted to do here. That isn't to say we can't learn from past epidemics of influenza. I'm just not sure those sites are strictly about monitoring influenza, but they may be.

Thanks for posting. Perhaps you could summarize some of the most useful discussions on the website you gave and link back directly to them. I did notice someone was giving very specific directions, like a prescription, for what seemed like holistic products. While Tamiflu has been discussed here, I don't any specific prescribing dosages, length of time etc. have been given. The closest is when I saw information last week when I urged any who have had A/H1N1 who may have certain medical conditions that resulted in them being under-dosed. However, their own doctor would have to decide what the appropriate dose would be for them.

It's always good to have other references and other posts. Sorry it took me this long to get back to you. I did look at the site over the weekend.

Please post additional information that would be useful to others who read this thread.

Thanks,

MSR

[Mtn. States Resident]

Does anyone who reads this column read conversational Spanish? IF so, please either post here or send me a DM. I'm banging my head, well sort of, due to an article I found in Spanish that has information that doesn't quite jive with some data we've been getting (or at least that is what I think it says). I am guessing I can read some of it well enough to know what it says, but I'm strictly guessing. I have zero training in Spanish.

So if you want to volunteer to help me with a translation - and yes it is about A/H1N1- most likely from a Mexican news source, please let me know. Thanks in advance to anyone who wants to help me with this publication

MSR