South Korea - Patients reportedly with "mysterious" respiratory illness - 28 fatalities reported - exposure to toxic humidifier chemicals confirmed

[alert]

Re: South Korea - 8 patients reportedly with "mysterious" pneumonia - 5 are pregnant or recently delivered mothers

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/05/117_86764.html

05-10-2011 18:36

Woman dies from unidentified viral pneumonia

By Kim Rahn

A woman died from pneumonia caused by an unidentified virus, according to the health authorities.

Fears are rampant as seven others, mostly pregnant women, are hospitalized with the same illness.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that a 36-year-old woman, who had been in the intensive care unit at a Seoul general hospital, died in the morning from a cerebral hemorrhage related to her condition. The unidentified woman was one of seven hospitalized for an unknown viral pneumonia.

The woman, who was nine months pregnant, visited the hospital on April 8 and she was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Three days later she was admitted to the unit as her condition worsened despite medication. Premature labor was induced so she could receive further treatment.

Soon after giving birth she rapidly developed pulmonary fibrosis while showing symptoms of cerebral hemorrhaging and died.

The authorities are studying to distinguish the virus. ?It will take some time to identify through DNA tests what caused the pneumonia. It is critical to determine whether the virus that caused the pulmonary fibrosis is a new strain that has not been reported before,? an official of the centers said.

As to the fact that seven out of the eight patients are women who recently gave birth or are expecting soon, the authorities said it is too early to say the disease is prevalent particularly among pregnant women.

?According to theses, 1.51 out of every 1,000 pregnant women contract pneumonia, and the cause is unknown in 30 percent of the cases. Pregnant women should not be overly concerned,? the official said.

[alert]

Re: South Korea - 8 patients reportedly with "mysterious" pneumonia - 5 are pregnant or recently delivered mothers

The obvious (but not automatically correct) answer here is that these are undiagnosed H1N1 cases. H1N1 is known to be more severe in pregnant women:

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=143570

and it is difficult to imagine another exposure that five unconnected pregnant women would have that others would not.

The same thing happened in Vietnam last year:

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=146673,

and in Guizou, China:

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=145544

The translation is a bit crude, but it might also be 6 cases, not 8.

[sharon sanders]

machine translated -

Not sure what this is. Epoch Times is the source...

South Korea emerged as the main maternal mystery pneumonia patients

By May 9, 2011 Reuters (Associated Press text Long / Jinming Yao reported Seoul) South Korea has recently emerged a group of mysterious pneumonia virus patients, mostly patients with maternal, individual patients have been accepted for lung surgery. Part 9, South Korea, said disease management, this pathogenic virus has not yet been confirmed.
Disease management headquarters yesterday, South Korea (8) that the six infected patients with pneumonia of unknown virus, the recent stay at a large hospital in Seoul. 5 patients are mothers, most of them before and after birth to show symptoms such as cough and breathing difficulties, initially diagnosed as tuberculosis by small clinics, pulmonary edema or heart failure and so on. The other is a 40-year-old man.
Patients transferred to major hospitals in Seoul after it was diagnosed as "infected with the virus of unknown pulmonary fibrosis." Only one female patients whose condition had improved and were placed in general wards, the rest were all placed in the intensive care unit, some of them rely on artificial lung or breathing oxygen tube, a mother seriously ill the day before yesterday (7 days) has been accepted for lung surgery, while patients with renal insufficiency, congestive heart or brain.
Not yet identified the specific virus causing pulmonary fibrosis, disease management headquarters Korean investigators on the 9th to accept the "Epoch Times" a telephone interview that, in almost the same time and the same people (maternal) the disease occurs, is not there species of special HIV-specific populations, currently under investigation.
Bureau of stakeholders, said the virus has not contagious, it is still under investigation, estimated infectious small, because the patient's family and friends nearby, also not found in these patients.
In Korea, most of such cases in the past year took place only two cases this year also appeared the first time so many patients. Investigators said they had established a monitoring system, is being closely monitored.

http://www.epochtimes.com.au/gb/11/5/9/n3251967.htm