No Prior Existing Conditions but Dead Anyway

[indigo girl]

http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/48007842.html

Who would think that a normally healthy woman would die so swiftly from influenza in June?

Could you ever have imagined such a thing? No wonder her family and friends are in shock.

So why did it happen?

Barbara Davis, 48, was healthy just a week ago. She had dinner with her mother Josephine last Friday night. But just hours after that dinner, Josephine got a phone call.

"My friend, he called me and told me Barbara was real sick. And I said, "Well, she wasn't sick when I left, so what's the matter?" Josephine Davis said.

Barbara told her mother that she was ok. But the next day, things got worse. She had trouble breathing, and she was shaking. She could barely walk into the hospital.

"She tried to talk to people, but she just couldn't talk," Josephine Davis said.

Doctors treated her for two days, but they couldn't save her. They believe she died from swine flu.

"They've never seen nothing like that, what she had. That infection just went through her body, attacking her kidney, her lungs, her liver. Everything," said Josephine Davis.

The Milwaukee Health Department confirmed on Friday a Milwaukee adult with no underlying medical conditions died from swine flu, though they haven't confirmed Barbara Davis was that victim.

Barbara's family knows all too well how serious swine flu can be.

"Everybody is just in a shock. The people that I talked to today, they are frightened. Because it happened all of a sudden," Josephine Davis said.

More than 1,800 people have caught swine flu in Milwaukee alone. The city's Health Department is stressing that if you are mildly ill with flu symptoms, you should call your doctor. If your symptoms are serious or if you have mild symptoms that are getting worse, you should see a doctor right away.

http://www.wisn.com/health/19751526/detail.html

The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner said 48-year-old Barbara Davis died Thursday in the ICU after being diagnosed with the flu strain.

The health department said, unlike Milwaukee's first swine flu victim, Davis did not have any "underlying medical conditions" that would have put her at a greater risk for the disease.

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showpost.php?p=248304&postcount=7

This post was written by Dr. Gratten Woodsen, MD commenting over at flutrackers on this unfortunate woman's case.

The decedent is described as having fulminate multi-organ failure that developed rapidly resulting in death 48 hours after onset and despite intensive medical therapy in an ICU including all the bells and whistles.

The attending physicians told the mother that they had never seen anything like this before and I believe them. So did she. No one has seen anything like this since 1918. In 1918 many doctors said the say thing after dealing with their first cases of Spanish Flu and for them too it was a great surprise at least until those that didn't die from the virus themselves had seen it so many times that it was no longer unique.

There are numerous descriptions from the 1918 pandemic that match the one above but no where else in medical history do we find anything remotely similar. This is why the doctors in Milwaukee were so shocked by what they saw.

How many other North American victims had similar pathology? Why have the autopsy and clinical findings from the deaths in Mexico, the US and Canada been suppressed?

I know from press reports that there have been other US deaths where multi-organ failure was present. Is this common among those who have died of Swine Flu or rare? Are the findings similar to those seen in 1918 or not?

(hat tip flutrackers/skatman)

[indigo girl]

Garland, Texas

http://www.khou.com/news/state/stories/khou090915_tnt_swine-flu-death-north-texas.180e76fc7.html

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.

(hat tip pfi/pixie)

[indigo girl]

Tennessee

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/SwineFlu/year-boy-dies-swine-flu/story?id=8574314

He seemed perfectly fine that Friday, but by Monday night, the apparently healthy boy was dead.

Max's case of swine flu has left doctors perplexed, with autopsy results pending to determine any underlying health conditions. Of the 36 children who have died so far of the H1N1 virus, two-thirds have had some underlying medical condition that made them more susceptible to the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But until he fell ill that weekend, Max was a perfectly healthy child.

Max woke up Saturday with a fever that peaked a little higher than 102 degrees, according to The Tennessean. Although high, experts say, a 102-degree fever is not, in itself, a red flag.

"One-hundred-and-two is not that uncommon," ABC's News' Dr. Richard Besser said.

His parents suspected routine illness and gave him an an analgesic.

By Sunday morning, Max's fever was gone, and he seemed playful and, more or less, back to normal. Still, his parents decided he should stay home from a church trip to the zoo.

Yet the next morning -- Monday -- the fever returned, along with a case of the chills.

Max's mother took her son to a local walk-in clinic, where the attending physician reported nothing out of the ordinary. But as soon as he returned home, Max's health continued to decline rapidly.

That evening, at 6 p.m., as his fatigue increased, Max's parents rushed him to Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

Less than three hours later, he died.

(hat tip pfi/sand)

[dscrn]

I thinkthat the Swine Flu has the whole world on alert. I remembr reading about the pandemic in 1918-and we are so much more mobile now. We had several death in my region in the Spring. I know that there is a push for vaccination-no guarantee that the virus won't mutate, after program begins. For immunocompromised, this is an absolute nightmare...

[lamazeteacher]

The key to survival from H1N1 appears to be earliest possible treatment with Tamiflu; and never passing off any of the symptoms as "normal", which is denial. Vigilence is essential, and action needs to be taken promptly by getting appropriate care as soon as s/s are noted.

Ordinarily, we can wait and see when illness first occurs, but with H1N1, that allows the virus to proliferate; and secondary infections set in. Then the host becomes unable to fight the infection and death occurs, no matter how much medical "muscle" is exerted.

I've been constantly reminding my son and his wife in Los Angeles to stay away from crowds while they were expecting their first baby, who arrived a week ago. Now they are superconcerned too; and my daughter-in-law will have the H1N1 vaccine as soon as it's available, after having the seasonal flu vaccination when she sees her OB at the end of this week.

Their pediatrician saw the baby, Sarah, today while his office was free of other children right before lunch. That was appreciated very much. She's nursing well and sleeping well, so far. She does need to regain her birth weight as all babies do, and her doctor took that quite seriously.

Crossing the country by car as I did a few weeks ago, I listened intently and asked questions at hotels where I stopped along the way, to see if anyone knew someone who had H1N1 in their community. None had.

Now in Los Angeles, I've asked my best friend here who's a kindergarten teacher, if she knows what she'd do if one of the children in her class developed a cough and fever suddenly. She responded adamantly that she would send that kid to the nurse and insist that a parent pick him/her up and get medical care promptly.

[dscrn]

On a personal note...I myself have CFIDS-and spend the majority of my time feeling "fluish" , an frequent resp infections Also concerned because I didn't develop abs to most types of pneumonia, following Pneumavax.

Congrats on the safe arrival of Sarah. Grandchildren aresuch blessings to be treasured:)

[indigo girl]

Nevada

http://www.lvrj.com/news/59443282.html

An 11th Clark County resident has suffered a swine flu-related death, the Southern Nevada Health District announced Tuesday.

The woman, a 45-year-old with no underlying medical conditions, died last week. Her name has not been released.

(hat tip pfi/pixie)

[indigo girl]

Independence, Mo

http://www.kctv5.com/news/20974025/detail.html

Health officials in Independence said Thursday that a 24-year-old woman has died from the H1N1 virus.

Officials said the woman died Wednesday night at an area hospital. They said the woman had no other pre-existing conditions as was the case with many of the other deaths associated with the H1N1 virus nationwide.

Officials said the woman suffered from diarrhea, coughing, sneezing, chills and fatigue. They said the woman's symptoms were prolonged -- a sign that there might be serious complications.

No specific information was released about the identity of the woman. Officials said they have not had a chance to contact the woman's co-workers.

(hat tip flutrackers/RosesRPurple)

[ozoneranger]

They had no KNOWN underlying medical conditions.

This documentary sheds light on single nucleotide polymorphisms and DNA expression.

This Documentary is from 2005 & explores how inherited genes

are turned on or off, along with other factors that include diet and stress as possible reasons for DNA being changed through each generation.

It's time well spent.

http://vodpod.com/watch/945241-biology-genetics-the-ghost-in-your-genes

[indigo girl]

Albuquerque, New Mexico

http://www.kvia.com/Global/story.asp?S=11155614

State health officials say a 21-year-old Los Alamos County woman who died of swine flu had no chronic health conditions or risk factors for complications from the virus.

Department of Health spokesman Chris Minnick says that with any flu, relatively healthy people develop serious complications or die.

He says state health officials are not considering the woman's death Sunday as an indicator of change in the virus.

The Albuquerque Journal identifies her as Aracely Marquez Marquez.

She was the fourth New Mexican to die of swine flu. Officials say all 3 of the other women who died had underlying health conditions that put them at risk for complications.

(hat tip pfi/aurora)

[indigo girl]

Oxford, Ohio

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/dayton-news/miami-grad-reportedly-dies-of-swine-flu-complications-314052.html

No mention of any health conditions, but if there is, I will move this post. Her case is not yet confirmed.

A recent graduate of Miami University has reportedly died of swine flu complications. If confirmed, she would be the second Butler County resident to succumb to the illness.

Family of Kimberly Young, 22, of Oxford, told the media the woman became ill last week and was treated and released from a local hospital. She started feeling sick again Tuesday, Sept. 22, and was flown from Oxford to University Hospital in Cincinnati, where she died, according to Local 12.

Her grandmother said the family was told Young, who would have turned 23 this weekend, was infected with the H1N1 virus and died of complications, according to Local 12.

The Ohio Department of Health, the Hamilton County Health District and the Butler County Health Department were unable to confirm Young had been infected with the virus.

(hat tip flutrackers/treyfish)

http://www.kypost.com/content/wcposhared/story/H1N1-Victim-Lacked-Health-Insurance-Coverage/GbqibyT_D0y6DAjGR0ponQ.cspx

Jean's daughter got Kimi to go to an urgent care center three or four days after she got sick, but Kimi balked at going to McCullough-Hyde Hospital as her condition worsened.

There was only one reason for that reluctance.

"She did not have insurance," said Jean. "After she graduated, she was working a bunch of jobs, but none of them had insurance."

According to Jean, Kimi went to great lengths to make sure that she didn't alarm anyone about her condition.

"She was doing everything in her power to not let anyone know how bad it was and that's why things got as bad as they did," she added.

Jean said Kimi was diagnosed as having swine flu with pneumonia. At the beginning of the week, she showed signs of dehydration and kidney failure.

That's when Jean's daughter called 911 and Kimi was rushed to McCullough-Hyde Hospital.

She was later transferred by Air Care to University Hospital in Corryville where she died.

[indigo girl]

Budapest, Hungary

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/287098,hungarys-second-swine-flu-fatality-didnt-meet-profile.html

A 34-year-old man who died suddenly of a lung haemorrhage was found to be infected with the A(H1N1) virus, the Hungarian health minister said Thursday. Istvan Szekely told the local news agency MTI that the death was particularly worrying, as the young man did not fit any of the risk groups described by the World Health Organization.

He had showed no sign of fever when he unexpectedly fell ill and died at home. An autopsy revealed infection with the A(H1N1) virus.

(hat tip pfi/monotreme)

UPDATE

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showpost.php?p=297882&postcount=3

Haemorrhagic pneumonia was in the 34-year-old man who died on Wednesday, and the autopsy revealed that the H1N1 virus was the organization. He was a second victim of the disease in Hungary.

Tamás Székely, the man was apparently healthy, last visited the area three weeks ago, a doctor in a trivial injury. The recent period has not been abroad.

He stressed that the young man's death is also very bad news, because it does not belong to any of the WHO published by risk groups.

[indigo girl]

Pinellas County, Florida

http://suncoastpinellas.tbo.com/content/2009/sep/23/232045/pinellas-county-reports-6th-death-swine-flu/

A sixth person in Pinellas County has died from the H1N1 virus, but unlike the previous five victims, this person had no known underlying health condition.

"The flu always has the potential to kill people," said Maggie Hall, spokeswoman for the Pinellas County Department of Health. "It may be more shocking to hear that a 39-year-old with no known health condition has died, but there have been children, there have been people older than 39, who die of the flu every year, but no one reports that."

(hat tip pfi/aurora)

Why yes, Ms Hall. It is shocking to hear that these people with no prior health problems have been dying of flu since last spring with no let up for the summer months. Flu season has not officially even started yet.

Give it about 2 weeks...