Flu Spreading at Unbelievable Rate

Nurses COVID

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Specializes in Too many to list.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26000408-12335,00.html

40% of the fatalities were previously healthy prior to catching the flu. Young, normal adults and kids...

SWINE flu spreads four times faster than other viruses and 40 per cent of the fatalities are young adults in good health, the world's top health official says.

"This virus travels at an unbelievable, almost unheard of speed," World Health Organisation Director General Margaret Chan told France's Le Monde daily in an interview.

"In six weeks it travels the same distance that other viruses take six months to cover," Ms Chan said.

"Sixty per cent of the deaths cover those who have underlying health problems," Ms Chan said.

"This means that 40 per cent of the fatalities concern young adults - in good health - who die of a viral fever in five to seven days.

"This is the most worrying fact," she said, adding that "up to 30 per cent of people in densely populated countries risked getting infected."

(hat tip pfi/monotreme)

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

What I find most frustrating is that so few hospitals, schools, etc. have made concrete plans. My hospital is actively planning for a possible crisis (many patients, no staff working), but we are not hearing of a similar level of planning elsewhere in our area.

And I have talked to several local schools of nursing (as of yesterday) and they have almost no plans in place to deal with the implications of having large numbers of students and faculty sick and missing class/clinicals.

It's like nobody has been paying attention to what has been happening in the Southern Hemisphere and what organizations such as the CDC and WHO have been saying.

Specializes in Too many to list.

I hear you.

We are all going to be very busy, very soon. The virus is already present in our communities.

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

Yes. We've already had cases in our hospital -- and several people I know have had influenza-like illnesses (ILI) over the past 2 weeks. Since people are not being tested unless they are seriously ill, nobody knows what kind of virus is responsilbe for these ILI's -- but the belief is that it is H1N1.

As schools start all over the county in the next week or two, we will see an explosion in the number of cases of influenza-like illnesses. That's the prediction of everyone at my children's hospital. By the time the H1N1 vaccine becomes available in a few months, it will be too late for most people. They will already have had the disease.

One major perception problem is folks feeling that when you have the sniffles and a runny nose, you have the "flu".

Ergo...Swine Flu

Meh

When I was in my late 20's I had the "flu". Man, it was AWFUL, and I was useless for AT LEAST a week, and I was REAL tough back then. I'm keeping my head down and keeping my hands cleaner than ever.

What's the old saying?

"Denial...it's more than a river in Egypt."

One of our CNA's said that 5 of her 6 children has the H1N1 flu and had the postive results on paper to prove it and she is'nt feeling herself, of course that didn't stop her from coming to work... Management would never ask this person to stay home untill every one is better. Some of our elderly patients don't survive the regular flu, I can't imagine what this flu will do

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
One major perception problem is folks feeling that when you have the sniffles and a runny nose, you have the "flu".

Ergo...Swine Flu

Meh

When I was in my late 20's I had the "flu". Man, it was AWFUL, and I was useless for AT LEAST a week, and I was REAL tough back then. I'm keeping my head down and keeping my hands cleaner than ever.

What's the old saying?

"Denial...it's more than a river in Egypt."

While you are right in that most people use the world "flu" to describe any influenza-like illness ... many people who get the real influenza do have symptoms that are fairly mild. Not everyone gets incredibly sick with H1N1 flu the seasonal flu. Some people are minimally symptomatic -- and they may actually be quite dangerous as they don't socially isolate themselves, take special precautions, etc. These people with mild versions may be the ones who spread it throughout the community the most.

To minimize the spread of H1N1 flu (and all other strains), we need to strongly encourage people to take precautions -- even if their symptoms are mild.

I hear you.

We are all going to be very busy, very soon. The virus is already present in our communities.

Apparently, hospitals in Western Pa are still currently calling people off and squeezing staff daily. Someone was just complaining to me about it. I didn't say anything to this person but I thought, "two months from now you will be wishing for an extra weekend day off".
Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
Apparently, hospitals in Western Pa are still currently calling people off and squeezing staff daily. Someone was just complaining to me about it. I didn't say anything to this person but I thought, "two months from now you will be wishing for an extra weekend day off".

Exactly.

Two pro football players, I think from Miami, have been diagnosed with SUSPECTED H1N1. It remains to be seen whether they actually have it. Highly likely possibility though.

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