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Or select your own preferred media source for information. The press release from the Dept. of Health is the same.
Plus, today's update from the CDC which doesn't include this first death in UT, plus at least one other that is being disputed in NYC pending further tests, will help more people pay realize how lethal this flu can be.
Why doesn't UT let school out earlier and stop some of how rapidly this virus is being spread? What are those in school learning with just days left in the year?
While the gentleman who lost the battle with H1N1 this morning may have had certain risk factors, the CDC which populations are most at risk for a month. Locally, IHC has been very aggressive getting practitioners and hospitals prepared for a major outbreak of this flu. While that doesn't mean other hospital chains aren't taking similar preparations, I've not seen them personally like I have with IHC.
What matters is how this person was exposed to the deadly virus. How do we know if the same person/people who exposed him haven't exposed someone you know, someone in your family or even you? Perhaps others don't have the same risk factors, but how many deaths in a state will it take for people to listen to what could happen?
My sincere condolences to the family of the man who lost his life fighting a virus most people have blown off this past month.
Details About the Young Man from UT who was Removed From Life Support Today, Due to the H1N1 Virus
Details about the demographics of this H1N1 flu victim are now available.
You may want to assess if you, a family member or someone else with whom you've had close contact has been at the medical facilities mentioned during the time this man was a patient at two different hospitals. I wish all the hospital workers, RNs, MDs and others who cared for this patient health.
PLEASE take precautions to limit your risk and the risk to others if you may be a carrier of this virus.
How would one know if they are carrier? Safest to assume you are, given how many infections UT has and how the the CDC is stating they believe infections are being under-reported.
Details about the demographics of this H1N1 flu victim are now available.
You may want to assess if you, a family member or someone else with whom you've had close contact has been at the medical facilities mentioned during the time this man was a patient at two different hospitals. I wish all the hospital workers, RNs, MDs and others who cared for this patient health.
PLEASE take precautions to limit your risk and the risk to others if you may be a carrier of this virus.
How would one know if they are carrier? Safest to assume you are, given how many infections UT has and how the the CDC is stating they believe infections are being under-reported.
That sounds a little extreme! If I'm assuming I am a carrier I guess I shouldn't be going to work when I work with a bunch of mentally ill clients!
There is no reason to overreact. This is from the article you linked:
Quote:
This H1N1 virus is nowhere close, nationally, to what the usual influenza claims every year: Nine deaths is still a far cry from the 30,000-plus deaths from seasonal influenza each year.
and
Quote:
Despite Marcos' death, H1N1 for now is still considered mild. Most people who get this influenza recover in five to seven days.
It's About Appropriate Precautions/Treatment for Carriers
Quote:
Originally Posted by cinnabon
That sounds a little extreme! If I'm assuming I am a carrier I guess I shouldn't be going to work when I work with a bunch of mentally ill clients!
There is no reason to overreact. This is from the article you linked:
and
Thanks for posting, cinnabon. I'd refer you to YOUR medical director for the agency/hospital where you work regarding your infectious disease management and precautions you should take. The age of your clients is important too, which you infectious disease officer/medical director will know.
My comments are not directed at you in particular; however, you raised questions that others won't write. So now is a good chance for people to start getting educated.
After all, why did the CDC raise their estimated 100K cases in the U.S. to
140K in one day? That doesn't mean all are severe or deadly, but each person has had the virus and shedded virus at a certain point in their illness.
I'm sure you are aware of the CDC's info for special populations. Working with mentally ill clients does place you in a higher risk group, per the CDC. Again, why your medical director or infection control officer should be consulted.
Carriers take precautions, they may or may not report to work, depending on their symptoms and what their doctor/doctors advise. Medication may or may not be started, depending on when exposure occurred. In your specific case, Cinnabon, your medical director of the clients for whom you are responsible will have guidelines of whether or not you should work with symptoms. Perhaps you have a medical professional who can test you at work. Others aren't as lucky and rely strictly on their healthcare providers for advise/care.
Carriers also provide care for children and most other jobs. How much one has been taught about not spreading any germs/bugs/viruses etc. depends on the job and training.
Other states have been discussing this info for a month.
Here is a basic site for the CDC and daily updates, although it is only updated M-F so the 6,500+ documented cases in the U.S. plus the 9 deaths (which is out-of-date with the 3 death in AZ) are out of date.
That sounds a little extreme! If I'm assuming I am a carrier I guess I shouldn't be going to work when I work with a bunch of mentally ill clients!
There is no reason to overreact. This is from the article you linked:
and
Oops, here is the direct link for special populations, per chance you've not had a chance to review with your medical director/infectious disease officer:
This is an interesting graphic. Outdated as soon as it is posted (such as not showing the U.S. with double-digit deaths). Nonetheless, it lets one see what countries are experiencing an accelerated rate of infection spread.
Besides the 22 cases in Kuwait, which is not represented in this graph, what is interesting now is Russia has confirmed its first positive case FOr those who have never thought how different genetics may be affected by different diseases, this graph can be interesting to watch daily.
Start watching for the amount of KIDSunder 15 years old being hospitalized. That is NOT NORMAL for regular flu season.
Starting with some basics, this is a video someone sent me a few days ago about how to teach kids how to properly wash their hands to help contain the spread of germs (be they bacterial, viral, mycoplasm etc.).
Covering your (your kids) mouth (s) and nose (s) when sneezing and always washing yours (your kids) hands helps protect against many diseases.
Please feel free to copy and use this You Tube Video:
"Swine Flu - teach children how not to spread germs:"
Early Findings; Potential Problems of Treating H1N1
At the recent World Health Organization (WHO) meeting in Geneva, these ideas (which will be printed in the publications, Science,) were highlighted.
1. Dr. Margaret Chan, the chief of WHO, said, "The world must be ready for H1N1 swine flu to become more severe and kill more people."
"A genetic analysis of the new virus showed it must have been circulating undetected for some time, in pigs or perhaps in other animals."
[b]2."An international team of researchers who analyzed all eight genes of the new virus confirmed its sneakiness, saying it was so different from its ancestral strains that it must have been circulating undetected for years."[b]
3. "They confirmed it is a hybrid of two other mixtures -- one a so-called triple reassortant of pig, bird and human viruses, and another group of swine viruses from Europe and Asia."
4. "U.S. officials reported 6,552 suspected and confirmed cases, 300 hospitalizations and nine deaths but said there were likely far more than that. The CDC's Dr. Anne Schuchat said only about one in 20 cases of influenza are reported, which would put the U.S. caseload at about 130,000."
THIS ARTICLE WAS REPORTED ON 05/22/09. WE KNOW THE DATA ABOUT THE U.S. AND OTHER COUNTRIES IS OUTDATED. NUMBERS OF INFECTED AND THE NUMBERS OF DEATH ARE HIGHER.
5."Russia reported its first confirmed case of the disease and the WHO was testing two suspected cases in Democratic Republic of Congo, which would be Africa's first."
Many of us are concerned about how this virus is made up of genes from swine, man and bird. Also, given how rapidly it mutates, we know Canada documented a case of the virus being tranfserred from a human to pig and back to a human again this past month.
Swine flu, while not very deadly, passes rapidly between people when it spreads to humans. Conversely, Avian or bird flu doesn't transmit as rapidly as Swine Flu, but is over 60% deadly to those with the infection.
There are concerns if current mutations are making the anti-viral drugs less effective in treating this OFF SEASON flu. If so, then will the same anti-virals work during the regular flu season?
Additionally, some worry Europe is over-using too much Tamiflu, leaving potentially only one drug as the only developed anti-viral to treat H1N1.
And as scknolwedge by all who have studied the cycles of flu, it is not that we expect so many deaths this off season infection time, but worry when it comes back during our regular time for the flu. That is when it may be very deadly having portions of the rapid spread (Swine) along with the lethality (Bird) flu as components of the H1N1.
Recently, I read that at least two people were infected with Bird/Avian Flu (H5N1) this last month. That was strictly during one week so I don't know the numbers for the entire month. One of those infected died. I did not know prior to finding that information that H5N1 is still considered epidemic in Asia. Did you?
Scientists, researches, treating clinicians and public health officials (among others) are all worried now that mainlain China has at least 2-3 documented cases of H1N1 when H5N1 has never stopped there. What new strains or mutations to the current H1N1 will emerge?
For those of us who are responsible for treating and hope to prevent as much spread of the disease as possible NOW, this is a big deal. We don't know what medications will be available in the fall as the "seed" for a vaccine may not cover the flu in several months, given mutations that may occur. The CDC has struggled under controlled growing conditions to give the "seed" to four different pharmaceutical companies so a vaccine can be made. Changes have happened that rapidly at the CDC, where almost all variables can be controlled.
I urge everyone to learn more and be vigilent about washing your hands, and sneezing into a tissue or sleeve (even though it sounds gross). Airborne particles are one of the major routes of transmission between people.
We should learn more watching the family in AZ that lost their 13 year old son. They also have another child who is hospitalized.
As I wrote earlier, in a different post: Kids under 15 seem to be one of the populations getting the sickest from H1N1. That isn't how it works in regular flu.
Please learn more, educate your families, co-workers, friends and others. If you have a fever, check with your doctor regarding your symptoms. Don't be worried about being embarressed if it is a minor infection (everyone will be happy it is minor). Other types of viruses are also increased right now in the Intermountain Area. Emergency rooms, some Urgent Cares and other facilities are prepared to help determine which viral agent may be the problem.
It is better to stay home from school with a fever 1-2 days, when you may shed virus, than to see the ripple effect a few days-weeks later. Especially, if you work with a special population, or people who are higher risk for other reasons. Rarely do people talk about the risk Cancer Survivors experience when those slightly ill come to work, recreation activity, church etc. and expose their immunosupprssed bodies to the virus.
Please, think about who you work with daily, relatives, friends and others. Who may be at risk, even if you are not, to become very ill from this infection?
Thanks for thinking about others as you learn more about this virus.
Sadly, there have been more U.S. deaths to report due to H1N1. As we lost the first victim in UT to H1N1, AZ lost their third patient. The AZ patient was a child who had other siblings that were infected. At least one other sibling was in the hospital last week.
Then, over the weekend, Chicago had a 22 year old man die as IL had their first victim. MO had a patient die prior to the man in IL, if I remember the order correctly.
Sadly, CNN updates us that after the 5/27/09 CDC briefly yesterday, another death in the Chicago area, a 4th death in AZ - also a pediatric patient, and two more deaths in NYC are increasing the number of victims to H1N1 at a faster pace than we've seen the last month.
Also, if you are going to travel, you may want to check with the health department in the state where you are traveling. All health depts. can be accessed through the CDC at: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Click on the link that says for State Health Depts.
There are pockets of severe infection spread........Chicago being one location, Reno, NV being another. If in doubt, learn if H1N1 is spreading where you need to travel. If you must travel, check with your healthcare provider first to see if you should be started on an antiviral agent or other medications.
There has been a lot of data released about H1N1. Most people don't want to think or read much about it. However, you may wish you had. If you want some quick links, visit the Idaho Forum under Swine Flu. There are 11 pages more than what is here. Yet, UT has more infections, including a death, than the dozens of cases in ID.
When in doubt, check the CDC, the State Health Depts., WHO and with your personal healthcare provider.
The WHO is Tracking NEW Bird (H5N1) Flu CASES This Week
The Idaho Forum will discuss this in detail. But, per chance you weren't aware, the WHO is actively still tracking Bird (Avian) Flu. I believe that is
H5N1. A man died in Viet Nam earlier this month with infections reported elsewere.
This week, two teenagers in Egypt are being followed for their Bird Flu.
Does it help to understand why scientists and those who are treating patients are concerned about H1N1 and H5N1 running into each other somewhere in the world and recombining to be much more lethal when we have our regular flu season in UT?
Check the WHO site if you want more info.
Stay well and if you are sick, PLEASE STAY HOME and follow your healthcare provider's directions! It's better for a staff to be short-handed for a while, than for one person to infect the rest of the staff so a facility or office is short-handed for a much longer period of time, let alone if children are infected at home.
Take care everyone..........
MSR
MSR
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Details About the Young Man from UT who was Removed From Life Support Today, Due to the H1N1 Virus
CDC Recommendations
YouTube Vid - Teaching Kids How to Wash Hands.
