Air Force Academy Outbreak

oramar · Jul 15, 2009

The 70 that showed symptoms but tested negative makes me shake my head. I wonder if considering the kind of heavy exposure they had and their symptoms, not to mention their age, that at least a large portion of negatives are are really positive? Could that means the current test in use has a larger failure rate than we originally thought?

indigo girl · Jul 15, 2009

The 70 that showed symptoms but tested negative makes me shake my head. I wonder if considering the kind of heavy exposure they had and their symptoms, not to mention their age, that at least a large portion of negatives are are really positive? Could that means the current test in use has a larger failure rate than we originally thought?

Docs are supposed to look at the clinical picture. If they had s/s, at least some were likely false negatives. The problems with the rapid flu tests are well known.

These kids will still be shedding virus for up to 7 days. It should be expected that more cadets will become ill. There may also be some that will be asymptomatic but still positive, and also shedding virus.

nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN · Jul 15, 2009

Keep in mind, the 1918 outbreak really got cooking stateside in military camps; Ft. Riley, KS, and Ft. Devens, MA stick out. Look up what happened at Devens, and then tell yourself, this will happen again.

oramar · Jul 15, 2009

Keep in mind, the 1918 outbreak really got cooking stateside in military camps; Ft. Riley, KS, and Ft. Devens, MA stick out. Look up what happened at Devens, and then tell yourself, this will happen again.

I read a book about that very subject around 10 years ago. It claimed that the 1918 outbreak started in North America and was carried around the world by GIs. Up until that point consensus was that it was brought home to US by GIs but started somewhere else. Can anyone remember the name of the book, I wish I could? Come to think of it I think that was the book that got me interested in flu pandemics.

oramar · Jul 15, 2009

Docs are supposed to look at the clinical picture. If they had s/s, at least some were likely false negatives. The problems with the rapid flu tests are well known.
These kids will still be shedding virus for up to 7 days. It should be expected that more cadets will become ill. There may also be some that will be asymptomatic but still positive, and also shedding virus.

Yes Indigo, thanks to you I know that the test can be unreliable. However, this article brought that home to me in a way that other post did not.

meme048 · Jul 15, 2009

I believe the book your talking about is:

Barry, John. The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History

Here is a link to other books on this subject:

http://1918.pandemicflu.gov/learn_more/01.htm

Maria