August 31st, 2009 by MWilhelm

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) – A 52-year-old Bernalillo County woman has died of swine flu, the second swine flu death in New Mexico.

The state Department of Health says the woman died over the weekend and had a pulmonary condition that put her at risk for complications.

A 45-year-old woman from Sierra County died of swine flu on Aug. 10. State health officials said at the time she had end-stage liver disease which put her at higher risk.

State Health Secretary Alfredo Vigil is urging people who have high-risk medical conditions and develop flu symptoms to call their health provider promptly.

The department says it will let the public know when swine flu vaccine is available in the state. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects to begin shipping vaccine around mid-October.

August 31st, 2009 by MWilhelm

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A recent poll on the H1N1 flu conducted by the American Red Cross found that more Americans are taking or planning on taking extra measures to cover their coughs and sneezes with tissue (78 percent) or wash their hands more carefully (76 percent) to avoid getting the flu.

The survey also found that 62 percent plan on being vaccinated against this new flu virus if a vaccine is offered.

While only 1 in 10 of those surveyed by the Red Cross claimed to be very worried about swine flu, results show people have a strong interest in taking protective actions.

The survey found that 93 percent of Americans are taking or planning to take at least one action to guard against this new flu. Nearly half of those surveyed (46 percent) plan on assembling a two-week supply of food, water and medicine that they might need in the event that they or someone in their family becomes sick and needs to stay home for extended periods of time.

“Even though most Americans aren’t extremely worried about the virus, they seem interested in taking steps to protect themselves and their families,” said Scott Conner, Red Cross senior vice president of preparedness and health and safety services. “Taking those basic steps, such as washing your hands more frequently and remaining at home if you are sick, become even more important as the new flu season approaches.”

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August 31st, 2009 by MWilhelm

WASHINGTON – When is swine flu just miserable and when do you need a doctor?

If it’s hard to breathe, that’s an emergency. It’s the not-so-obvious cases that can have parents, or the sick of any age, fretting.

“There tends to be a lot of hysteria,” said Dr. Nathan Litman of the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. “We should try to emphasize the prevention mode, and the rational approach to dealing with the illness rather than when the child has a runny nose running to the emergency room.”

Symptoms of any flu include fever of 100 degrees or more, cough, body chills and aches, congestion. Diarrhea and vomiting sometimes occur, particularly with the swine flu that doctors call the 2009 H1N1 flu.

Regardless of the strain, most people who otherwise are healthy need to stay home and rest, and get plenty of fluids, health officials agree.

But there’s a catch. Not everyone with swine flu gets a fever, making it hard to know if they’ve got that or a common cold.

That doesn’t happen too often, although there are no good statistics and no one knows if those people even are as contagious as the fevered, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. But generally, people without a fever don’t get as sick.

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August 31st, 2009 by MWilhelm

A flu virus that could be H1N1 has already hit local universities and some other schools. However, Lori Smyth, director of the Warren County Health Department’s nursing division, said it is not time to panic.

“It’s anticipated that there will be many more cases, hospitalizations and of course even more deaths, because right now our population doesn’t have very high immunity,” she said. “However, the statistics from the H1N1 are not worse than a year of the regular seasonal flu. We have many, many people who get ill from the seasonal flu.”

Warren County representatives from about 40 local governments, health and human service agencies and others gathered Monday, Aug. 31 to discuss handling everything from an all-out pandemic to distribution and administration of a large number of doses of a vaccine that are expected to arrive in mid-October.

“This is novel, it’s new and it’s scaring people. There is not a reason to be scared. That’s why we have you all here, to get our ducks in a row,” Smyth said.

Emergency Services Director Frank Young first sent a microphone around the table so each person could tell the group why they were there and what they could provide in the event of an emergency.

Offers included sharing continuity of service and emergency response plans already in place, facilities that can be used for vaccination clinics and providing volunteers. Some services offered were a little more specialized.

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August 31st, 2009 by MWilhelm

A study showing that 1 in 10 New Yorkers was infected with swine flu earlier this year will be released this week. (Of that group, 47 died.) The estimate comes in advance of a press conference tomorrow from Mayor Bloomberg which will outline the city’s plans to deal with the expected fall outbreak. Details are scarce, but some sources suggest that the Mayor will announce that pieces from the voluminous collection of brochures he has sent out to every city resident in support of his re-election campaign can be easily manipulated to serve as surgical masks.

August 31st, 2009 by MWilhelm

There’s no way to tell how many Enterprise city schools students are sick with the flu unless parents call the schools or a school nurse talks with parents, an Enterprise school official said Monday.

However, city schools are seeing more student absenteeism in the city schools since the swine flu outbreak occurred, said Oveta Pearce, the school system’s director of federal programs and coordinator of school nurses.

“We look at our absentee list in the mornings and we know that a lot more students are staying home,” she said. “When the school nurse calls the parents, the parents are the ones that tell the school nurse or call the central office and say, ‘Yes, my child has been confirmed as having the swine flu.’ That’s about the only way we know.”

Many students come to school in the mornings, but are sent home if they display certain symptoms, Pearce said.
“If the children have a fever or are vomiting, their parents are called to come pick them up. We send them home as soon as we can. In the meantime, they are protected by a mask to prevent the spread of germs,” she said.

According to statistics, more cases of the swine flu are cropping up daily and mostly among school-age youths.
Coffee County now has 29 confirmed cases, but many more are suspected.

“Sometimes parents will treat their child at home without taking them to the doctor,” Pearce said. “That way, no one can know if they have the regular influenza or the swine flu. It’s hard to keep count.”

The Coffee County School System is also seeing effects of the swine flu. Reports from the system indicate 195 students were absent Monday from Kinston, New Brockton Elementary, New Brockton High School and Zion Chapel High School. 

That total is 21 more absences than were reported last week, when 174 county students were absent on Wednesday, Aug 26.
The Enterprise City School System will host a meeting for parents on Oct. 1 to go over details of the swine flu and the swine flu vaccine the schools will be offering. Parents will be sent a letter detailing the time and location of the meeting.

Pearce said the school system is looking at the end of October to begin giving the voluntary inoculations to help curb the swine flu in schools.

http://www2.eprisenow.com/ent/news/local/article/schools_reporting_more_absentees_for_flu/89780/

August 31st, 2009 by MWilhelm

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has the swine flu.

Social Protection Minister Diego Palacio says the 57-year-old Uribe is not considered a high-risk patient and his case is ‘developing satisfactorily’.

He is being treated at the presidential residence.

Palacio said on Sunday that Uribe began feeling ill on Friday, the same day as a summit of South American leaders in Bariloche, Argentina that he attended.

He was confirmed to have the swine flu on Saturday.

Colombian officials are contacting leaders and officials who may have had contact with Uribe during the summit.

Colombia has reported 621 confirmed cases of the swine flu with 29 deaths, according to the social protection ministry.

August 31st, 2009 by MWilhelm

A Scottsboro Elementary School Student died Monday morning at Highlands Medical Center of undetermined causes.

Unconfirmed reports indicate the 11-year old boy died while being treated for a flu-like viral illness, possibly Novel H1N1 (swine flu). The boy was a student at Collins Elementary School.

Highlands Medical Center is expected to release more details on the situation this afternoon.

Jackson County Coroner John David Jordan confirmed that the boy died at Highlands Medical Center sometime before noon. He said his office was contacted because it is required to review child death cases.

“Highlands Medical Center and the Jackson County Health Department are following up,” Jordan said. “They are investigating the case.”

Jordan could not confirm that the youth died of H1N1.

He said that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Alabama Department of Public Health would receive the appropriate information in the case and would make the final determination after appropriate testing.

The family, according to sources, has requested a private autopsy.

August 31st, 2009 by MWilhelm

CVS and Walgreens drugstores will begin offering flu shots tomorrow, about three to four weeks ahead of the usual start to flu shot season.

In separate announcements Monday, the companies gave details on how customers can obtain the first of three flu shots expected this season. The other two shots, which are expected to be released in mid-October, will be targeted at the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu.

CVS (Stock Quote: CVS) will be administering the vaccine for the seasonal flu without an appointment at more than 500 MinuteClinic locations inside CVS stores. Adults and children older than 18 months are eligible to receive the vaccine, but age restrictions vary based on location. To find out what stores are participating near you, go to the CVS Web site. There will also be flu shot clinic events at more than 9,000 CVS stores beginning Sept. 15; the company said a schedule will be available soon on its Web site.

Walgreens (Stock Quote: WAG) will have immunizing pharmacists or nurse practitioners at all clinics and Walgreens pharmacies Sept. 8 through Sept. 30 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The flu shots will be available on an appointment or walk-in basis and will cost $24.99. Shots will be available outside those hours depending on availability. To find a location offering the flu shot near you, go to the Walgreens Web site.

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August 31st, 2009 by MWilhelm

Pune/Dehra Dun/Bengaluru, Aug. 31: The death count in the unrelenting swine flu pandemic has crossed the 100 mark after the virus claimed four more lives in three states. With three men dying in Pune and Bengaluru and a woman succumbing in Dehra Dun, the countrywide toll due to infection now stands at 102.

As many as 15 patients, currently undergoing treatment for the viral disease, are in a critical condition in various hospitals in worst-hit Pune, where 31 people have died due to the infection, officials said.

H1N1 cases continued to swell across the country with 128 more testing positive for the virus, taking the total number of flu cases till yesterday to 3,881, the health ministry said in Delhi.Fortytwo-year-old Vilas Padale and 26-year-old Anil Nikam died due to the flu at separate private hospitals in Pune last night, officials said on Monday.

Thirtyfive-year-old Rubina, a resident of Mussoorie, who was suffering from cold, cough and fever for the last five days, died in the Doon Hospital on Sunday night, nodal officer dealing with flu in Uttarakhand Pankaj Jain said in Dehra Dun. Her throat swab has been been sent for test, he said. Sudhakar, a 28-year-driver, passed away because of the infection on Monday at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases in Bengaluru, raising the toll in Karnataka to 26. —PTI

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August 31st, 2009 by MWilhelm

Doctors don’t know yet if it will take one dose or two of vaccine to protect against the new swine flu. Add that to vaccine for the regular winter flu, and it could be a multishot season for a lot of people – or a multisquirt season, for those who choose the FluMist nasal-spray version.

Some possibilities:

-One shot: Older adults currently aren’t on the priority list to get swine flu vaccine but they should get the seasonal vaccine, which is available.

-Two shots: There’s a potential for the regular vaccine in one arm and the swine flu vaccine in the other, if that one requires just one dose.

-Three shots: The swine flu vaccine might require two doses three weeks apart, plus the regular vaccine.

-Four shots: There’s even this possibility for some children. Youngsters under 9 who are getting their first-ever regular flu vaccination need two doses of it.

August 31st, 2009 by MWilhelm

STOCKHOLM — Sweden reported its first swine flu death on Monday, a hospital in the central city of Uppsala announced, the first death from the A(H1N1) virus in the Nordic countries.

“We received the test results which confirm that the man in his 30s who died last Friday had H1N1 flu,” the Akademiska hospital said in a statement.

The man had flu symptoms and died at his home near Uppsala, 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Stockholm. He had not been travelling abroad.

Several people with the A(H1N1) virus are currently seriously ill in Sweden, where more than 900 people have been infected with the virus.

The other Nordic countries — Denmark, Finland and Norway — have so far not reported any deaths from the disease.

Sweden has already signed an agreement with a laboratory for a delivery of 18 million doses of vaccine for its 9.3 million population: the treatment requires two doses.

The first batches are expected early next month and will be on a voluntary basis, even if Sweden wants as many people as possible to take up the offer.

More than 2,180 people around the world have died from the virus since it emerged in April, according to the latest WHO figures, with an estimated 210,000 people infected in 177 countries.

August 31st, 2009 by MWilhelm

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Even at 16, Will Ross realized the shot injected in his left arm was for more than his own benefit.

“I do see it as trying to help other people figure out a vaccine,” said the Iowa City West junior, one of the first participants in a pediatric study of H1N1 vaccine that began Monday atUniversity of Iowa Children’s Hospital.

The UI was one of eight sites nationwide chosen by theNational Institutes of Health to test a vaccine for the H1N1 virus, previously called swine flu.

Tests are being expedited in a race against a predicted resurgence of H1N1 flu, which experts believe could be more severe than what the country has seen so far.

Dr. Patricia Winokur, who is leading the UI study, said safety data from adult trials was analyzed before children received any shots.

“It’s a balance of being safe enough and not postponing the trials to get the data,” she said. “There’s an urgency to start getting data with the kids. That’s a very high risk group.”

Unlike seasonal flu, which hits the elderly hardest, H1N1 has disproportionately affected children and young adults.

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventionadvisory committee recommended everyone aged 6 months to 24 years old receive the H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available.

Winokur said some vaccine is expected in mid-October, but it was unknown how much would be ready. The trials will help determine how the U.S doles out what could be a limited supply.

Already, 170 adults enrolled in another portion of the study at the UI.

Winokur said some of the adults reported low-grade fever and tenderness at the injection site, but nothing unexpected.

Children at the UI will receive two H1N1 vaccinations and a seasonal flu shot. Researchers will analyze how and when the H1N1 shot should be given with seasonal shots.

St. Louis University is the lead site for the pediatric study, with a total of 650 young participants expected nationwide. About 100 children, ages 6 months to 17 years old, will participate at the UI Children’s Hospital.

Bubbles and flashing lights from a plastic Mickey Mouse figurine distracted 3-year-old Greta Gordon during most of her hospital visit, but her brown eyes filled with tears as she felt the shot go in her leg.

Her mother, Sara Gordon of Swisher, said the short-lived pain would be worth it to protect her daughter.

As of last week, at least 2,185 people worldwide had died from H1N1 novel influenza A, according to the World Health Organization, including 522 in the United States. The average age has been 38.

One middle-aged Iowan died this summer.

Ross missed band practice and two classes to begin the vaccine trial. He plans to use the $370 he receives as a participant for a class trip to Spain.

His mother, Jill Ross of Iowa City, said both she and Will suffered through a week with the flu two winters ago, so she hoped the shots would prevent illness in her son and his brother, Paul, 13, who is also participating.

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August 31st, 2009 by MWilhelm

An adolescent with a pre-existing medical condition is the sixth person to die of the H1N1 virus in Sonoma County, county health officials said Monday.

Sonoma County Public Health Officer Dr. Mary Maddux-Gonzalez said the teen died of complications from the flu last week after a brief hospitalization.

There have been 36 hospitalizations for the flu in the county and many more reports of influenza-like illnesses, Maddux-Gonzalez said.

“Our deepest sympathies go out to this child’s family,” Maddux-Gonzalez said in a news release.

“While the vast majority of cases of flu are mild or moderate illnesses, sadly that was not the case here. Every death reminds all of us that influenza can be a very serious illness,” Maddux-Gonzalez said.

A vaccine for the H1N1 flu is expected to be available in mid October.

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local-beat/Sonoma-Teen-Dies-From-Swine-Flu-56365992.html

August 31st, 2009 by MWilhelm

MUSCAT — Most of the deaths caused by H1N1 in Oman resulted from patients’ delay in reporting to health institutions, a key official said.

In other cases, Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Saidi, Health Affairs Under-secretary, added the infected persons suffered from ?other diseases.

Nine people, including an expatriate, have lost their lives to swine flu in ?the Sultanate.

The total number of people affected by the disease since it first broke out in Oman at the end of July is around 900.

Saidi said the H1N1 morbidity and mortality rates in the country were “within normal international limits.”

He also said the southern Dhofar governorate, which accounted for a majority of the deaths, was free from any “disease or pandemic.”

He said the first consignment of the vaccine against swine flu, now under development, was expected to reach Oman by the end of the year, but added that it would not be used until its safety was ensured.

Saidi added that the ministry would provide health institutions across the country with more doctors, nurses and para-medical staff if there was ?a need.

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