Discussion: Alabama respiratory illnesses

[NS1]

Feel free to request information from your contributors in the US military about a potential Fort Rucker connection to MERS. Personnel contacts with the Middle East occur for their rotary training instructors.

At any rate, the US Army School of Aviation Medicine conducting hypoxia-induction work at MR may be interested in this geographically proximal clinical finding.

 

[Emily]

Re: Increase in respiratory illness reported in southeast Alabama (Health Dept., May 21 2013): 7 hospitalizations, 2 deaths - one fatal case positive for influenza A/H1N1, one hospitalized case for influenza A/H3

Re: Increase in respiratory illness reported in southeast Alabama (Health Dept., May 21 2013): 7 hospitalizations, 2 deaths - one fatal case positive for influenza A/H1N1, one hospitalized case for influenza A/H3

Feel free to request information from your contributors in the US military about a potential Fort Rucker connection to MERS. Personnel contacts with the Middle East occur for their rotary training instructors.

At any rate, the US Army School of Aviation Medicine conducting hypoxia-induction work at MR may be interested in this geographically proximal clinical finding.

I was wondering if Ft. Rucker's health authorities are in communication with civilian DOH's in the area, too. That is a big base that does aviation training of allied forces.

Also, there has been a major refueling of the Farley Nuclear plant occurring during the outbreak time frame that brought in 800 outside workers to help the 900 employed permanently at the plant:

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/employees-safely-return-plant-farley-unit-2-to-service-following-planned-refueling-outage-206916201.html

 

[Emily]

Re: Discussion: Alabama respiratory illnesses

The military base presence looks like a driving factor in all the scrutiny given to this cluster:

http://mdjonline.com/view/full_story/22684607/article-Tests--No-common-germ-behind-illness-cluster?instance=secondary_story_left_column

Alabama mystery illness solved: it's common flu
by Kathy Wingard Associated Press and Mike Stobbe, AP Medical Writer
May 23, 2013 05:45 PM
[snip]
Williamson said health officials took extraordinary caution due to the emergence of two viruses, including the new H7NP, in other countries. Southeast Alabama is home to a military base and several aircraft plants that have frequent international travel...