wtf, bird flu on POW? (Metlakatla: how much, college, mold)

[Wrennie]

ps.
What we ARE being told is that it is some sort of contagious pneumonia.

[Barkingowl]

Who'd have thought that there's a forum for the flu?

Respiratory illness hits remote Alaska island - FluTrackers

[Wrennie]

Thanks, Bark. I didn't know that, either.
So if the nurses were coming back across on Friday....I guess we might know something by middle of the week, hopefully?

[Clawdia]

There are several message boards/forums about H5N1 (avian influenza) - all of them have been watching and waiting for more information from the region affected in Alaska by this "unknown" illness.

Prior to finding this forum, the total number of cases we had heard about numbered in the 20s with only 7 considered serious.

Can anyone add anything about the "contagious pneumonia"
diagnosis?

H5N1 has been most prevalent in Indonesia, altho cases reported in Russia and other countries. Currently,
more than 80% of cases in Indonesia have been fatal. It has long been feared that Alaska might be a likely
entry point into the US for the virus.

Other places where information about this may be found are:

Flu Wiki Forum www.fluwikie.com

PANDEMIC FLU INFORMATION FORUM :: View Forum - Main Forum

Uh, obviously I haven't figured out how to post hot links here yet . . . but please copy and paste into URL and check out available information.
I have no connection with either board other than as a participating member.

[Metlakatla]

Thanks for the links.

I wonder if Captain Crunch has the bird flu.

[Clawdia]

You're very welcome for the links - those of us at those forums would welcome any additional information. Registration there is no more difficult than here.

I can't tell who here is actually in the POW area in question.
Wrennie? Are you there, or nearby? I notice you said that rumors of quarantine began last week . . . do you know exactly what day the first people were medivacced out, and where they were sent? Are representatives from CDC known to be in the area?

Some of us have been following this virus as it has spread during the past couple of years, and have been watching the
situation there in POW since we first got word of an unidentified illness that seems to be related to possible flu-like symptoms, i.e, cough and fever.

The statement here about an "infectious pneumonia" strikes me as significant.

Does anyone have any first hand knowledge of any of this, or any sources you could point me towards to try to get any additional information?

Many thanks. As I said, we'd welcome any input at the links I posted . . . if the format of Fluwiki looks more complex to navigate, the board at PFI might seem a more familiar format and easier to navigate as it's closer to the software used here.

[Barkingowl]

Is there really such a thing as infectious pneumonia?

[Metlakatla]

I'm not on the island. I live there part of the time; Wrennie visits there often but I think she is in Ketchikan right now. Both AKgrl or Captain Crunch might have some info. My mother didn't seem to know much when I talked to her but I'll see if she can find out more.

[Metlakatla]

If they were medivacing people out, it had to have been pretty serious. The year before last, my son was up for Christmas break and came down with some horrible breathing problem, and they were able to take care of him at the Klawock clinic.

[Wrennie]

I know that most of the sick people that I've heard from directly are in the Klawock area. The first I heard about a quarantine was from someone in Klawock. That was last Tuesday or Wednesday. I know that there is no quarantine yet in place.
I know for a fact that nobody has died from this because I would have heard. All I've been told is "very sick".
The symptoms have been described as an infectious pneumonia, that we should take basic precautions, but that it is not a diagnosis. We don't have a diagnosis yet.
I imagine that we'll get a diagnosis later in the week.... and personally I very much doubt that it will be bird flu.
I don't have specific information yet about the fly-outs. They would have been flown first to Ketchikan.