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USA - 3 familial deaths, 2 hospitalized due to respiratory illness confirmed by Calvert County Health Dept Maryland - 4 test positive for Seasonal Influenza H3N2

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  • #46
    Re: USA - 3 familial deaths, 2 hospitalized due to respiratory illness confirmed by Calvert County Health Dept Maryland - 3 test positive for Seasonal Influenza A/H3

    FluTrackers Maryland Flu Cluster March 2012 Case List

    Index case - Woman, 81, disease onset February 23, death at home March 1 - influenza not confirmed but highly suspected

    Woman, 56, child of index case, disease onset February 28, died in hospital March 5 - seasonal influenza A/H3 confirmed + staph infection

    Man, 58, child of index case, disease onset February 28, died in hospital March 5 - seasonal influenza A/H3 confirmed + staph infection

    Woman, 51, child of index case hospitalized and recovering - seasonal influenza A/H3 confirmed, staph infection not confirmed

    Woman - elderly, sister of index case hospitalized March 6 with fever - no diagnosis at this time


    Sources:

    CIDRAP report March 7

    FluTrackers phone call to Calvert County Health Department March 7

    FluTrackers Team thread Begun March 6

    Comment


    • #47
      Re: USA - 3 familial deaths, 2 hospitalized due to respiratory illness confirmed by Calvert County Health Dept Maryland - 3 test positive for Seasonal Influenza A/H3

      LenaSun
      12:32 PM EST



      This is Lena Sun, the reporter who's been writing about the health aspects of this story. To answer many of your questions--which are good!--Ruth Blake DID have a seasonal flu vaccine, according to David Rogers, the Calvert County health officer. None of the others were vaccinated, he said.
      This year the flu season has gotten off to a late start. All the health officials I've talked to are urging folks to get a flu shot if they haven't done so alreadyhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/nation....html#comments
      CSI:WORLD http://swineflumagazine.blogspot.com/

      treyfish2004@yahoo.com

      Comment


      • #48
        Re: USA - 3 familial deaths, 2 hospitalized due to respiratory illness confirmed by Calvert County Health Dept Maryland - 3 test positive for Seasonal Influenza A/H3

        FluTrackers asks for release of the genetic sequences from the fatal cases.

        Comment


        • #49
          Re: USA - 3 familial deaths, 2 hospitalized due to respiratory illness confirmed by Calvert County Health Dept Maryland - 3 test positive for Seasonal Influenza A/H3

          Given the mother's age, the vax may not have helped very much.

          And then there's this from the CDC weekly Fluview:

          2010-2011 Week 8 ending Feb 26, 2011
          Antigenic Characterization:
          Influenza A (H3N2) [488]
          Four hundred eighty-three (99.0%) of the 488 tested were characterized as A/Perth/16/2009-like, the influenza A (H3N2) component of the 2010-11 influenza vaccine for the Northern Hemisphere. Five viruses (1.0%) of the 488 tested showed reduced titers with antiserum produced against A/Perth/16/2009.

          2011-2012 week 8 ending Feb 25, 2012
          Antigenic Characterization:
          Influenza A (H3N2) [407]
          Three hundred nineteen (78.4%) of the 407 viruses were characterized as A/Perth/16/2009-like, the influenza A (H3N2) component of the 2011-2012 influenza vaccine for the Northern Hemisphere.
          Eighty-eight viruses (21.6%) tested showed reduced titers with antiserum produced against A/Perth/16/2009.

          The salvage of human life ought to be placed above barter and exchange ~ Louis Harris, 1918

          Comment


          • #50
            Re: USA - 3 familial deaths, 2 hospitalized due to respiratory illness confirmed by Calvert County Health Dept Maryland - 3 test positive for Seasonal Influenza A/H3

            Current News

            <TABLE style="FONT-SIZE: 14px" class=metadetail><TBODY style="FONT-SIZE: 14px"><TR style="FONT-SIZE: 14px" class=metadetail><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 17px" class=thebig>Hospital Addresses Community Flu Concerns </TD></TR><TR style="FONT-SIZE: 14px" class=metadetail><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 12px" class=metadetail>
            Calvert Memorial Hospital has responded to a number of phone calls from concerned residents following recent reports of a cluster of serious flu illness. Hospital officials are encouraging area families to follow basic guidelines recommended during flu season ? get vaccinated, wash hands frequently and limit contact with sick people. Anyone with flu-like symptoms should check with a healthcare provider.

            State officials said Wednesday that lab tests confirm that two of the members of a Calvert County family who died early this week of severe respiratory illness had a strain of the seasonal flu.

            ?We understand that many in the community are nervous about the flu after reading media reports about this family?s tragedy,? said Dr. Paul Pomilla, medical director for infectious diseases at Calvert Memorial Hospital, ?but we want to reassure the public that we are not aware of any other cases of serious influenza-like illness that have a confirmed link to the original patients.?

            He went on to add, ?We are continuing to monitor the influenza-like illness that is seen in the ER, urgent care centers and the hospital and will share this information with the health department.?

            This year?s flu season has gotten off to a late start and is expected to stretch into late May. ?That is why we are recommending people who have not yet received a flu vaccine to get one,? said Pomilla. He said flu shots are available locally at some doctor?s offices, pharmacies, grocery stores and the health department, which offers them on a walk-in basis on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. ? 4 p.m. for $20.

            Pomilla explained that influenza (flu) comes in different strains and each year the flu vaccine is developed to cover the strains that are expected to circulate. ?It is believed that this year?s flu vaccine covers the strain of seasonal flu that began the respiratory illness process for the patients who died earlier this week.? He cautioned that even with the flu shot, it takes two weeks for antibodies to form and provide you with protection.

            While the severity of illness due to flu varies from season to season, in general the very young, adults older than 65 and individuals with certain medical conditions are at higher risk for developing flu-related complications. In addition to the flu vaccine, the health department is asking residents to take standard precautions to prevent the spread of illness, including hand washing and limiting contact with sick people.

            ?Good hand hygiene is something we practice all the time,? said Linda O?Brien, director of infection control at CMH. She said the hospital has initiated other measures to protect its patients and staff during the flu season. ?We?re asking that people with flu-like symptoms not visit friends or relatives in the hospital.?

            She went on to add, ?Visitors are encouraged to use the hand-sanitizing stations that are installed around the campus. We?re also using extra caution with anyone sneezing or coughing. They will be asked to put on a mask as soon as they come in.?

            ?Our goal is to educate residents to be active participants in helping to prevent the spread of the flu and to keep themselves and their families healthy,? said O?Brien.



            </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

            Comment


            • #51
              Re: USA - 3 familial deaths, 2 hospitalized due to respiratory illness confirmed by Calvert County Health Dept Maryland - 3 test positive for Seasonal Influenza A/H3

              Source: http://content.usatoday.com/communit...-was-unusual/1

              Mar 08, 2012
              Officials: Maryland family's flu tragedy was unusual
              By Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY

              ...While it's in the nature of influenza to infect people who are in close contact, three fatalities among one family is rare.

              The family is believed to have had the H3N2 strain of flu, which has been circulating in the U.S. for more than two years and has been in the flu vaccine for the past two years. H3N2 can be particularly dangerous for the elderly.


              However it wasn't the strain of the flu they had that killed them. What was deadly in this case, and what health officials always worry about, are co-infections. CDC officials believe that all three had Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). It's the type of staph bacteria that causes boils. But it can also get in the lungs or the blood stream and cause dangerous infections. People who have the flu can be more susceptible to these infections. "You're sick with the flu virus and that can make you more susceptible to an infection from this really nasty bacteria that can make you really sick pretty quickly," says Skinner.

              According to CDC's Tom Skinner, Maryland is sending specimens from the autopsies on all three family members, which should arrive today, and CDC will be able to confirm exactly what happened "hopefully within a few days."..

              Comment


              • #52
                USA - 3 familial deaths, 2 hospitalized due to respiratory illness confirmed by Calvert County Health Dept Maryland - 3 test positive for Seasonal Influenza A/H3

                Source: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/con...luster-br.html

                MRSA pneumonia suspected in fatal flu cluster
                Lisa Schnirring * Staff Writer

                Mar 8, 2012 (CIDRAP News) ? Another family member linked to a fatal flu cluster in Calvert County, Md., has been hospitalized, as suspicion grew that an aggressive drug-resistant form of pneumonia may have played a role in the severe illnesses, according to media reports.

                Maryland and Calvert County health officials didn't report any new details about the cases, but the Washington Post reported yesterday that the sister of the 81-year-old woman who died has been hospitalized at MedStar Washington Hospital Center with fever but no other flu symptoms.

                Yesterday the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (MDHMH) said seasonal H3N2 influenza had been confirmed in two of the four initial illnesses, which involved the older woman and three of her adult children, two of whom died on Mar 5 after caring for their mother. The second daughter who cared for the woman is recovering at the same Washington, DC, hospital.

                Hospital officials have said the patients' influenza infections were complicated by co-infections with Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia prior to hospitalization, and Calvert County Health Officer David Rogers, MD, told the Post yesterday that the staph infections probably involve methicillin-resistant S aureus (MRSA).

                Rogers also told the Post that the mother had been vaccinated against seasonal flu but that the children who cared for her had not.

                Tom Skinner, a spokesman for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said the CDC was expecting autopsy samples from Maryland to arrive today, and the agency hopes to confirm what pathogens were involved within a few days, according to a USA Today report.

                Secondary S aureus pneumonia is a potentially fatal complication of influenza, and one of the hallmarks can be severe necrotizing pneumonia, according to a report on 10 MRSA pneumonia cases, six of them fatal, reported to the CDC from Louisiana and Georgia during a 2-month span in the 2006-07 flu season. The report was published in the Apr 13, 2007, issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). The patients included both children and adults, and many were previously healthy.

                The report details a short interval between respiratory symptom onset and death or isolation of MRSA from the patient. In four of the six fatal cases the patients died within 4 days of symptom onset, which the authors said suggests concomitant flu and MRSA infections, rather than a two-phase pattern seen with other types of flu and pneumonia.

                Calvert Memorial Hospital, which originally treated some of the patients, said today that it has fielded a number of calls from worried area residents. Paul Pomilla, MD, the hospital's medical director for infectious diseases, said in the statement, "We understand that many in the community are nervous about the flu after reading media reports about this family?s tragedy, but we want to reassure the public that we are not aware of any other cases of serious influenza-like illness that have a confirmed link to the original patients."

                The hospital advised families to follow routine flu prevention methods and to be vaccinated against flu if they haven't been already, given the flu season's late start. Hospital officials said they would continue to monitor flu-like illness patterns seen in the emergency department, urgent care centers, and hospital.

                See also:

                Mar 7 Washington Post story

                Mar 8 USA Today story

                Mar 8 Calvert Memorial Hospital statement

                Apr 13, 2007, MMWR report

                Comment


                • #53
                  Re: USA - 3 familial deaths, 2 hospitalized due to respiratory illness confirmed by Calvert County Health Dept Maryland - 3 test positive for Seasonal Influenza A/H3

                  More information on MRSA can be found at this link -

                  Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; Community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA); Hospital-acquired MRSA (HA-MRSA)

                  Comment


                  • #54
                    Re: USA - 3 familial deaths, 2 hospitalized due to respiratory illness confirmed by Calvert County Health Dept Maryland - 3 test positive for Seasonal Influenza A/H3

                    Originally posted by mixin View Post
                    Given the mother's age, the vax may not have helped very much.

                    And then there's this from the CDC weekly Fluview:

                    2010-2011 Week 8 ending Feb 26, 2011
                    Antigenic Characterization:
                    Influenza A (H3N2) [488]
                    Four hundred eighty-three (99.0%) of the 488 tested were characterized as A/Perth/16/2009-like, the influenza A (H3N2) component of the 2010-11 influenza vaccine for the Northern Hemisphere. Five viruses (1.0%) of the 488 tested showed reduced titers with antiserum produced against A/Perth/16/2009.

                    2011-2012 week 8 ending Feb 25, 2012
                    Antigenic Characterization:
                    Influenza A (H3N2) [407]
                    Three hundred nineteen (78.4%) of the 407 viruses were characterized as A/Perth/16/2009-like, the influenza A (H3N2) component of the 2011-2012 influenza vaccine for the Northern Hemisphere.
                    Eighty-eight viruses (21.6%) tested showed reduced titers with antiserum produced against A/Perth/16/2009.

                    http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/
                    Week 6 in the 2011-12 Influenza Surveillance from CDC indicated 2.3% of Seasonal H3N2 tested showed reduced titers with antiserum produced against A/Perth/16/2009 -

                    The jump in percentage showing reduced titers is significant just from Week 6 to Week 8 in the same season.

                    Comment


                    • #55
                      Re: USA - 3 familial deaths, 2 hospitalized due to respiratory illness confirmed by Calvert County Health Dept Maryland - 3 test positive for Seasonal Influenza A/H3

                      From her comment on her article:



                      Maryn McKenna, Maryn McKenna is an award-winning journalist and the author of SUPERBUG and BEATING BACK THE DEVIL. She blogs for Wired. 1 comment collapsed

                      Smart questions. The MDHMH says it was the same strain, and I know of someone who privately asked the CDC if it was a drifted variant, and was told no.

                      Comment


                      • #56
                        Re: USA - 3 familial deaths, 2 hospitalized due to respiratory illness confirmed by Calvert County Health Dept Maryland - 3 test positive for Seasonal Influenza A/H3

                        Originally posted by alert View Post
                        From her comment on her article:



                        Maryn McKenna, Maryn McKenna is an award-winning journalist and the author of SUPERBUG and BEATING BACK THE DEVIL. She blogs for Wired. 1 comment collapsed

                        Smart questions. The MDHMH says it was the same strain, and I know of someone who privately asked the CDC if it was a drifted variant, and was told no.
                        How long does it take to test the specimins for reduced titers produced against a specific strain?

                        It seems the amount of time between specimin collection (likely March 5 or later) and the answer to whether the virus is a drift variant, is quite short.

                        Comment


                        • #57
                          Re: USA - 3 familial deaths, 2 hospitalized due to respiratory illness confirmed by Calvert County Health Dept Maryland - 3 test positive for Seasonal Influenza A/H3

                          Originally posted by curiosity View Post
                          Week 6 in the 2011-12 Influenza Surveillance from CDC indicated 2.3% of Seasonal H3N2 tested showed reduced titers with antiserum produced against A/Perth/16/2009 -

                          The jump in percentage showing reduced titers is significant just from Week 6 to Week 8 in the same season.
                          Now I wonder if there is some error with the latest CDC reports.

                          The percentage in Week 7 doubled:
                          Influenza A (H3N2) [291]
                          Two hundred seventy-seven (95.2%) of the 291 viruses were characterized as A/Perth/16/2009-like, the influenza A (H3N2) component of the 2011-2012 influenza vaccine for the Northern Hemisphere.
                          Fourteen viruses (4.8%) tested showed reduced titers with antiserum produced against A/Perth/16/2009.

                          But this new Week 9 report: info for H3 and Flu B, seem to be a repeat of week 8.
                          Influenza A (H3N2) [407]
                          Three hundred nineteen (78.4%) of the 407 viruses were characterized as A/Perth/16/2009-like, the influenza A (H3N2) component of the 2011-2012 influenza vaccine for the Northern Hemisphere.
                          Eighty-eight viruses (21.6%) tested showed reduced titers with antiserum produced against A/Perth/16/2009.

                          The salvage of human life ought to be placed above barter and exchange ~ Louis Harris, 1918

                          Comment


                          • #58
                            Re: USA - 3 familial deaths, 2 hospitalized due to respiratory illness confirmed by Calvert County Health Dept Maryland - 3 test positive for Seasonal Influenza A/H3



                            [snip]

                            A third child, Elaine, 51, who lived with her mother and had been her main caregiver, was hospitalized March 5 and discharged late Thursday, a MedStar Washington Hopital Center spokeswoman said.

                            A fifth family member, a sister of Lou Ruth Blake’s, is still at the hospital center but improving, the spokeswoman said.

                            [snip]

                            State health officials confirmed Friday, as county officials had earlier said they suspected, that the two siblings who died also had a bacterial infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, a known and dangerous complication of influenza infection.

                            Comment


                            • #59
                              Re: USA - 3 familial deaths, 2 hospitalized due to respiratory illness confirmed by Calvert County Health Dept Maryland - 3 test positive for Seasonal Influenza A/H3

                              Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/nation...l1R_story.html

                              Flu strain confirmed in Calvert deaths
                              By Lena H. Sun, Friday, March 9, 4:00 PM

                              Four members of the Calvert County family stricken by flu complications had the same H3N2 strain of the influenza A virus, Maryland health officials said Friday.

                              That strain is one of three seasonal varieties circulating in Maryland and nationwide, officials said. Previous testing had identified influenza A but not the specific subtype...

                              ...Lou Ruth Blake had received a seasonal flu vaccination but none of the three adult children received one, Calvert County Health Officer David Rogers has said. This season?s vaccine protects against two strains of influenza A ? H3N2 and H1N1 ? and influenza B.

                              State health officials confirmed Friday, as county officials had earlier said they suspected, that the two siblings who died also had a bacterial infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, a known and dangerous complication of influenza infection...

                              ...Officials said no additional related severe respiratory illnesses have been confirmed and no other similar clusters have been identified anywhere in Maryland. This year?s flu season, however, has started late; the flu season typically can last as late as May.

                              Comment


                              • #60
                                Re: USA - 3 familial deaths, 2 hospitalized due to respiratory illness confirmed by Calvert County Health Dept Maryland - 3 test positive for Seasonal Influenza A/H3

                                FluTrackers Maryland Flu Cluster March 2012 Case List

                                Index case - Woman, 81, disease onset February 23, death at home March 1 - influenza not confirmed but highly suspected

                                Woman, 56, child of index case, disease onset February 28, died in hospital March 5 - seasonal influenza A/H3 confirmed + staph infection

                                Man, 58, child of index case, disease onset February 28, died in hospital March 5 - seasonal influenza A/H3 confirmed + staph infection

                                Woman, 51, child of index case hospitalized and recovering - seasonal influenza A/H3 confirmed, staph infection not confirmed - released from hospital March 9

                                Woman - elderly, sister of index case hospitalized March 6 with fever - no diagnosis at this time

                                Comment

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