It's still mild right?

indigo girl · May 13, 2009

http://www.cdc.gov/media/transcripts/2009/t090512.htm

The truth is, she really does not know. No one does. This reassortment concern is partly why they have been pushing for vaccinating everyone possible with seasonal flu.

Alan Miranda: Hi. Well, I would like to follow up on what you just said. You said also at the beginning that there are also other kinds of viruses circulating. And I was about to ask you, if this virus could reassort with any other kind, any other strain, Avian flu, for instance.
Anne Schuchat: Unfortunately, reassortment happens. And this means that the viruses that we're seeing can exchange genetic material with other viruses that are circulating. This can happen in humans, in pigs, in birds. And so, we do always have a risk that the viruses will exchange genetic material and get worse, or hopefully, get better, if they do that. So, we do think that the simultaneous occurrence in the world right now of this novel H1N1 strain that appears to be very transmissible and very virulent H1N1 strains that are endemic in animals in certain countries of the world in the avian population and the seasonal H1N1 strain that is oseltamivir resistant is an unusual circumstance. Certainly, our efforts to control seasonal influenza with our annual immunization campaign will be important, and of course, there are discussions going on about vaccine development and potentially manufacturing and even use, eventually, of an H1N1 virus vaccine. Those are important discussions, as well as the ongoing efforts to try to control the Avian H5N1 problem in birds in some of the world. Next question?

indigo girl · May 20, 2009

Etobicoke man's 'mild' case of H1N1 landed him in intensive care unit after 12 days of mounting pain

http://www.healthzone.ca/health/article/635351

Most cases continue to be mild but, it can look like this when it is not so mild. At least he did not end up on a vent or dead. He probably thought that he was going to die or maybe wished that he was...

...the case was characterized as "mild" because the patient did not require ventilation to assist with breathing.
Gale, however, said from his perspective the illness he endured was anything but mild.
"That's crazy,'' he said of the hospital's characterization.
"It's been hell. That's the first time I've had to spend a night in hospital in my life."

nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN · May 20, 2009

Definitions of severity are always difficult to quantify -- I know it's changed since I became a nurse. It used to be bad flu if it kept me home -- now I consider it bad if you end up on a vent.

My definition:

Mild -- You can still look after yourself without assistance, and have the capacity to call for help if you need it. You may or may not be on prescription meds. You could get yourself out of the house if it caught on fire without any problem. No need for hospitalization.

Moderate -- You need someone else to run to the store/pharmacy for you and cook for you. You're on prescription meds. If the house caught on fire, you'd probably need assistance to leave the building. You may or may not need hospitalization

Severe -- You're hospitalized, on IV antibiotics, with oxygen therapy.

Critical -- You're in ICU on a vent.

indigo girl · May 20, 2009

Good points, and I agree with you.

indigo girl · May 20, 2009

Swine flu: not a walk in the park

http://scienceblogs.com/effectmeasure/2009/05/swine_flu_not_a_walk_in_the_pa.php

So far illness caused by this virus seems similar to the illness caused by seasonal flu. The word "mild" is sometimes applied to flu that doesn't kill you or send you to the hospital. If you've had flu -- this one or the more usual seasonal kind -- that won't be much comfort to the wracking muscle and joint pains, fever and miserable respiratory symptoms. But at least you didn't wind up in the hospital, although you could have. Influenza can be very nasty...
False negatives occurred in 5 out of 30 of the hospitalized cases reported on here.
As far as we know at the moment, these patients are not unusual in the sense that their experience is unlike "the usual" seasonal influenza. On the contrary, one reason for concern about a flu virus that can spread faster and to more people (and younger people) is not that its illness is unlike seasonal influenza but that the illness it causes is (so far) very much like seasonal influenza.