Alarm over cases of severe pneumonia

[CopitoSP]

Alarm over cases of severe pneumonia


Date: 10/01/2011

In Quito, Carlos Andrade Mar?n Hospital, Social Insurance is over its capacity and now refers critical patients to the clinic La Merced.


There, one expert says that this pneumonia is similar to the H1N1 virus and just as serious.

In the past 3 weeks La Merced has received 35 cases, of these, 18 occurred in the first week of January, of which two people died.

Stuart Salgado, Chief, Intensive Care Clinic La Merced, states that "we are with a alarming number, insisting that they are to be handled pneumonia in intensive care, we designated 13 special beds for patients in the hospital Carlos Andrade Mar?n, of which 11 patients are on mechanical ventilation in critical condition. "

The Institute has qualified P?rez Izquieta patients tested negative for influenza H1N11, but the doctor called attention to the outbreak of deadly pneumonia so similar and because it is viral and
nonbacterial.

Salgado stated that this is not normal. "It's the first time that we live this in our country."

It insists on avoiding crowds and if a high fever, are advised to go immediately
a specialist.

http://www.vistazo.com/webpages/pais/?id=13599

 

[CopitoSP]

Re: Alarm over cases of severe pneumonia

I think this is related to H1N1, in the last weeks we're seeing more reports coming out of Ecuador talking about H1N1 and its severity and at least 9 people have died recently and several more are hospitalized.

Today, they have declared "emergency" in the health care system because of a new outbreak of swine flu in the country.

It's not a coincidence that 35 cases have tested positive for H1N1, mainly in the region of Quito in the last few days and this report shows 35 patients in a hospital in Quito in the past 3 weeks. They are in denial.

 

[alert]

Re: Alarm over cases of severe pneumonia

I think you're right that this is almost certainly undiagnosed H1N1; the hospital mentioned above matches the one in this article, and this ones also indicates none of the fatalities in the city (at the time of publication) were confirmed H1N1.

As an added bonus, the cases counts are approximately proportional: 2 deaths in 35 cases in that hospital versus 8 deaths in 137 cases overall, suggesting that it is all the same outbreak, and the tests may be having trouble detecting severe H1N1 cases.

http://www.eluniverso.com/2011/01/09/1/1447/quito-confirma-muerte-ah1n1.html?p=1354&m=638

[snip]

Spanish to English translation
In Quito, there are four hospitals that received the largest influx of patients, these are the Eugenio Espejo, Pablo Arturo Suárez, Enrique Garces and Carlos Andrade Marín.

According to the latest report from the MSP, of the 467 samples for laboratory tests identified as suspected cases, 36 were positive for H1N1, 121 cases were positive for seasonal influenza viruses and the rest belong to other respiratory infections.

In the last week of December 2010 at hospitals in Quito, in which sentinel surveillance, 137 patients were admitted with acute respiratory infection. Eight of those killed, 3 in the Eugenio Espejo Hospital, 3 at the Enrique Garcés and 2 in the Carlos Andrade Marín. In no case of H1N1 confirmed the diagnosis.

 

[alert]

Re: Alarm over cases of severe pneumonia

Actually, if these eight deaths are the eight deaths above, then it is possible that fatalities are being confirmed, but covered up.

http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/734854.html

Spanish to English translation
Eight people killed by H1N1 virus in Ecuador
The authorities considered that the number of cases is reduced to consider that there has been a resurgence of the virus

The Ecuador Ministry of Health confirmed the death of eight people in Quito because of the H1N1 virus, but denied that there had been a resurgence of the epidemic in the country.

Two other patients are hospitalized in the capital of Ecuador, said the source, while the National Institute Izquieta Leopoldo Perez, Guayaquil, which is responsible for the respective national analysis confirmed the existence of 20 cases.

He attributed the problem to characterize the cold winter season in the country and added that the number of cases is reduced to consider that there has been an outbreak of H1N1 influenza.

Temperatures of up to six degrees Celsius, unusual in Quito, have been recorded on certain days of December and January so far, accompanied by heavy rains throughout the Andean region of the country.

The first news about the reappearance of H1N1 virus occurred in the province of Imbabura, north of Quito, where three cases, none of the victims had died