By in large, the majority of children dying from H1N1 have other medical conditions

indigo girl · Sep 4, 2009

This is true, of course.

What I find worrisome though are those that have no prior existing health problems. These cases are the only ones that are being docmented in the thread below because their deaths simply are not explainable due to any other condition.

https://allnurses.com/pandemic-flu-forum/no-prior-existing-400466.html

indigo girl · Sep 4, 2009

http://www.recombinomics.com/news/09040901/us_pediatric_deaths.html

i am not sure what to make of this commentary from recombinomics, and i think that it is worth watching for further cases that do not have prior existing conditions to see if there is some kind of pattern that we should be noticing. i am remembering several latino names. is that signficant? i don't know.

arizona (six cases), california (three), connecticut (one), florida (one) , illinois (two), massachusetts (one), minnesota (two), new jersey (three), new york (four), new york city (four), oregon (one), rhode island (one), texas (two), utah (three), and wisconsin (two).
the above list of locations of the 36 pediatric deaths in the united states described in tomorrows mmwr highlight the differences between these earlier cases and those12 who have died in the past 2 weeks, which were largely in the south where school began in early august. many of the earlier cases had severe underlying conditions, but the number of infections in children during that time period was relatively low because the levels of h1n1 began to rise near the end of the school year. although there were reports of outbreaks in summer camps, the number of cases have exploded among students returning to school for the current season.
these outbreaks were most dramatic in the south (see map) and schools with absentee rates above 10% were common. moreover, several school districts (see map) have closed when rates rose to 20-40%. additional schools remaned open, and now similar rates are being seen further north, like the 44% of 6th graders at a school in suburban pittsburgh (see map).
the student fatalities are at public schools and there is no indication of underlying conditions. one student began feeling ill on friday, played soccer of saturday, and died on monday. this short interval between disease onset and death has been described for several students.
thus, these cases make tomorrow's report obsolete prior to publication. a similar analysis of students dying during the current school year should be underway.
results from that report are eagerly anticipated.

indigo girl · Sep 4, 2009

http://www.recombinomics.com/news/09040902/us_deaths_explode.html

there is that conjunctivitis again as a symptom of influenza.

adolescents are at a higher risk of dying of pandemic h1n1 influenza virus than younger children, a situation that is the opposite of that encountered with seasonal flu, health authorities said yesterday.
and those with underlying health problems, such as cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and neurodevelopmental disorders, are at the highest risk and should be among the first to be vaccinated against the virus, according to a report in the centers for disease control and prevention's morbidity and mortality weekly report.
the government's warning takes on added urgency as schools begin to reopen and increases in infections from the virus, commonly known as swine flu, become apparent. swine-flu outbreaks are sporadic throughout the country, especially in the southeast.
"the most likely explanation is that schools started earlier there," said dr. thomas r. frieden, cdc director.
the above comments linked to today's mmwr are largely us cases from the spring, when the pandemic h1n1 was beginning to spread. however, the school year was ending so most of the patients had significant underlying conditions and were not in the schools which served the vast majority of students. now that those schools are opening, the number of pediatric deaths has exploded.
the week 33 cdc report has 5 pediatric (ages 0-18 years) deaths, and media reports describe 13 more in the past two weeks. most of these cases do not have obvious underlying health problems and most are in the south or california, where the school year started in early august. in many cases, the fatalities are in school districts where the absentee rate exceeds 10%. however, these schools are remaining open, and the fatalities are soaring. moreover, these pediatric cases will lead to more serious adult cases in teachers and parents since school serve as an efficient transmission environment.
these clusters are also appearing further north in tennessee (see map) or pennsylvania (see map). in ringgold middle school the absentee rate in the 6th grade reached 44% and now the 7th grade is following suit with 60 students out. the number of absentees for the middle school is over 200, representing more than 25% of the school's population and media reports cite one student as more seriously ill. other school districts have closed to break the cycle, but the number of schools with 10% or more absent is growing, so the breaking of the cycle is difficult.
reports of 200 or more students out in local schools, including universities, are widespread, and most of these schools have only been in session for a few weeks. it is likely that these numbers will increase dramatically as more schools open and large school gatherings, including sporting events, increase.
although many schools are reporting the massive outbreaks, others are attributing the absenteeism to other causes. since over 50% of h1n1 infections do not produce fever, a runny nose is considered an allergy or a cold. a cough is diagnosed as bronchitis. gastro-intestinal problems are call the "stomach flu". a sore throat is diagnosed as strep throat. conjunctivitis or pink eye is attributed to other infections. influenza a positive cases are called seasonal flu or "normal flu, even though over 99% of influenza a positive cases at this time are swine flu.
thus, the true extent of the swine flu infections are grossly underestimated, but the increase in hospitalized and fatal cases in the upcoming weeks will focus attention on the true cause of the massive outbreaks in schools.

oramar · Sep 8, 2009

Ringgold is not in Pittsburgh, it is not even in Allegheny county where Pittsburgh is situated but it is close enough. Is it possible the news media is playing the deaths down a bit. If you ask the average citizen around here they will tell you the flu is a mild illness and they had no idea it could kill. Honestly, I hear people say it everyday.

oramar · Sep 9, 2009

The most recent data I read said that 67% of the deaths in children were related to preexisting conditions. That means 33% were in healthy children with absolutely no other problems. Both numbers are just awful, I have a niece that graduated from high school in June and finished two and a half years of chemo for leukemia at the same time. She is now a freshman in college. Worry about the healthy is bad enough but so many kids are out there are living normal lives with serious underlying health problems. I feel a sense of dread when I think of that.

RuRnurse? · Sep 9, 2009

"The most recent data I read said that 67% of the deaths in children were related to preexisting conditions. That means 33% were in healthy children with absolutely no other problems. Both numbers are just awful,"

Yes, they are. Massive infection of the otherwise healthy are signs of a new infection. This swine flu apparently effects younger people and pregnant women more seriously, so it is, evidently, a new flu infection to us humans. So, it will be more serious. But, the thing will RUN IT'S COURSE, if left alone. If we screw around with it, we'll have folks hurt more by the interventions than by the disease itself.

We aren't eliminating respiratory infections anytime soon...let's focus on the ones that can be helped, make the ones that can't be more comfortable.

And, yes, the group that suffers most is the young, especially during a pandemic. Pandemic disease is an affliction of the young. They will get the sickest, and die off in higher numbers. If this stupid swine flu is like that, it will be pretty bad.