The third story here concerns the death of an 11-year-old girl in Dallas. MCM
I. Spain: Half of ICU flu patients had no health problems Via the Barcelona Reporter: <http://www.barcelonareporter.com/index.php?/news/comments/study_involving_21_spanish_hospitals_states_50_of_swine_flu_icu_patients_ha/>Study involving 21 Spanish hospitals states 50% of swine flu, ICU patients had no health problems. Excerpt: >Study involving 21 Spanish hospitals states 50% of swine flu, ICU >patients had no previous health problems > >The study, presented on the website of the medical journal 'Critical >Care' is the largest ever conducted in Europe on influenza cases >requiring intensive care. Their findings contradict one of the >messages on influenza A released by the Ministry of Health and the >Department of Health, which have repeatedly reported that patients >with influenza A cases had previous health problems. > >The findings contain important messages for both the general >population and for health authorities and medical intensivists. For >the general population, an appeal to healthy people without risk >factors to avoid falling prey to overconfidence in regard to >influenza A. Although the vast majority of those affected will >overcome the flu without complications, a small percentage will have >pneumonia and should be hospitalized. > >"The natural symptoms of the disease is usually three or four days >of fever, generally over 38 degrees with a steady improvement in the >following days. But a minority of patients, around the fourth or >fifth day, get worse," reports Jordi Rello, head of the intensive >care unit of Tarragona Joan XXIII Hospital and coordinator of the >study. > >Therefore, if a sufferer experiences breathing difficulties after >contracting the flu, they should seek medical attention urgently but >the main point of the study is that no risk factors or diseases have >made them particularly vulnerable. II. 40% of swine flu patients young and healthy: WHO http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/40swine-flu-patients-younghealthy-who/73434/on Forty per cent of the most serious cases, as well as deaths, concerned people "who would otherwise be considered healthy," WHO expert Sin Lun Tam told a conference on pulmonary diseases that runs until Wednesday in the Austrian capital. Of those who had fallen gravely ill from the H1N1 virus, over 50 per cent of were below the age of 20, he said. Meanwhile, the death rate was highest among people between the age of 25 and 49, he added. The expert also noted that between 15 and 30 per cent of those admitted to hospital with the H1N1 virus had to be treated in intensive care. And the origins of the disease were still unknown, he said. In Australia and the United States, children made up the highest number of hospitalisations, according to the WHO. At least 3,205 people have died of the disease since it was uncovered in April, the organisation said on Friday. III. Garland swine flu victim 'did not have underlying health problems' By JANET ST. JAMES / WFAA-TV http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa090914_lj_swinejames.17cd15027.html GARLAND - Dallas health officials say the first child in North Texas to die of swine flu did not have underlying medical conditions. Cynthia Garcia, 11, did have pneumonia and a bacterial infection, they said, but those conditions appeared to follow the swine flu infection. Cynthia was a sixth grader at Price Elementary in Garland, which is in the Mesquite ISD. Mesquite ISD have alerted parents to the girl's sudden death. School officials say Cynthia went home sick from school with a fever Thursday. She saw a doctor that day and then went home. The popular student was taken to the hospital Saturday in respiratory distress. Her mother, Maria Bidillo, said Cynthia's symptoms appeared very much like ordinary flu until that day. "She was really weak," Bidillo said. "In the evening, [she told me] 'I don't feel good, I need to go to the doctor.'" Cynthia died later that same day. Price Elementary, like other schools, has cases of the flu but not higher, we're told, than other schools. School officials are attempting to reassure parents they're doing what they can to control the spread of H1N1 virus. They are urging parents to check the Mesquite ISD website for updated information. On Monday, Dallas County Health and Human Services confirmed that the student was indeed infected with the H1N1 influenza virus. "While this death is unfortunate, deaths associated with influenza occur every season," said Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Wendy Chung. WFAA-TV Health experts predict the H1N1 virus will spread in schools. The death marks the county's third H1N1-related death. The county's first H1N1-related death was reported August 27th. The case involved a 52-year-old female who had an underlying medical condition. The second H1N1 death was reported September 4th. That case involved a 37-year-old male who also had underlying medical conditions. Texas has had four confirmed H1N1 deaths in residents under the age of 18. In comparison, there were 11 pediatric flu deaths in Texas during the 2008-2009 flu season, not including flu deaths during the summer of 2009. Two pediatric flu deaths occurred in Dallas County last flu season, officials said. "The best advice Dallas County Health and Human Services can give families is to check your children in the morning, or the night before if necessary, for any signs of illness," DCHHS Director Zachary Thompson said. "Particularly, you should check your child for fever." * Officials say preventative measures listed below should be taken: * Get vaccinated when vaccines are available. * Stay home for at least 24 hours after the fever has gone away without the use of fever-reducing medication. * Use your elbow to shield your cough or sneeze. * Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water. * Use hand sanitizer regularly. * Wash your hands before touching your eyes, nose and mouth. * Avoid contact with other sick people as much as possible. * Seek medical attention early if you have flu-like illness and high-risk conditions. Most healthy people who get the flu will not need to be treated, but there are signs to look for that should prompt a person to seek medical attention. In children, they include: fast breathing or trouble breathing, bluish or gray skin color (call 911 immediately), not drinking enough fluids, severe or persistent vomiting, not waking up or not interacting, being so irritable that the child doesn't want to be held. In adults, they include: difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen, sudden dizziness, confusion, sever or persistent vomiting. Anyone whose flu-like symptoms improve, but then return with fever and worse cough should seek medical attention. WFAA-TV reporter Gary Reaves contributed to this story. E-mail <mailto:[email protected]?subject=studentdeath>[email protected] --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to Mark Crispin Miller's "News From Underground" newsgroup. 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