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Local doctor says H1N1 peaking now
By Kelli Stopczynski
WSBT News1
Story Updated: Oct 12, 2009 at 6:47 PM EDT
GRANGER ? One local doctor says he thinks the H1N1 virus has reached its peak here. Still, compared to last week, area school corporations saw more students out of school Monday.
Schools have to report to the Health Department if the absenteeism rate is 20 percent or above in a certain building. WSBT didn?t hear whether that has happened at any schools in our area, but we also couldn't reach the Health Department Monday, because it is closed for Columbus Day.
Teresa Carroll, a spokesperson with the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation, said 15 percent of students at Elsie Rogers and Bittersweet Elementary were out sick Monday. About 14 percent of Penn High School students were also out, but Carroll said the corporation is averaging 10 to 11 percent in most buildings.
A lot of the sick students are going to the doctor. Monday was a very busy day at Dr. Jesse Hsieh?s office in Granger. He saw about 50 people complaining of flu-like symptoms.
Hsieh diagnosed many of the patients with Type A Influenza.
?If it?s [Type] A, right now we?re assuming, because 99 percent of the random sampling is showing it?s H1N1,? Hsieh said.
Melissa Riem brought in her 5-year-old son J.T. with a fever and other symptoms. Hsieh did something he said is not the norm and put the whole Riem family ― including J.T.?s three other brothers ? on the preventative medicine Tamiflu.
?Usually [when we do that] there's a high risk individual in the family and we're following CDC guidelines in terms of treatment,? Hsieh explained.
Among high risk patients are toddlers and pregnant women.
Chad Odle also brought his son Hudson in to see Dr. Hsieh last week to treat flu-like symptoms. A few days later, doctors admitted Hudson to the hospital to treat his H1N1 symptoms.
?It?s always scary when you've got to take a kid to the emergency room,? Odle said. ?[Hudson] was having a hard time breathing, to where we had just put him in the bath and his chest was concaving when he was trying to breathe.?
Even after taking Tamiflu for a few days, Hudson?s twin sister Remi was already showing symptoms Monday morning.
?She?s kind of giving us a scare because she got up this morning with a fever and was starting to cough like he was,? Odle said.
Dr. Hsieh said he thinks the worst is almost over, and we are in the H1N1 peak right now. That means the next couple of weeks are still going to be fairly rough with people getting sick and missing school and work.
Hsieh said the Centers for Disease Control is predicting a double-barreled flu season ― meaning we?re dealing with H1N1 now, and the seasonal flu will likely run its course after the first of the year.
http://www.wsbt.com/health/64042157.html
By Kelli Stopczynski
WSBT News1
Story Updated: Oct 12, 2009 at 6:47 PM EDT
GRANGER ? One local doctor says he thinks the H1N1 virus has reached its peak here. Still, compared to last week, area school corporations saw more students out of school Monday.
Schools have to report to the Health Department if the absenteeism rate is 20 percent or above in a certain building. WSBT didn?t hear whether that has happened at any schools in our area, but we also couldn't reach the Health Department Monday, because it is closed for Columbus Day.
Teresa Carroll, a spokesperson with the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation, said 15 percent of students at Elsie Rogers and Bittersweet Elementary were out sick Monday. About 14 percent of Penn High School students were also out, but Carroll said the corporation is averaging 10 to 11 percent in most buildings.
A lot of the sick students are going to the doctor. Monday was a very busy day at Dr. Jesse Hsieh?s office in Granger. He saw about 50 people complaining of flu-like symptoms.
Hsieh diagnosed many of the patients with Type A Influenza.
?If it?s [Type] A, right now we?re assuming, because 99 percent of the random sampling is showing it?s H1N1,? Hsieh said.
Melissa Riem brought in her 5-year-old son J.T. with a fever and other symptoms. Hsieh did something he said is not the norm and put the whole Riem family ― including J.T.?s three other brothers ? on the preventative medicine Tamiflu.
?Usually [when we do that] there's a high risk individual in the family and we're following CDC guidelines in terms of treatment,? Hsieh explained.
Among high risk patients are toddlers and pregnant women.
Chad Odle also brought his son Hudson in to see Dr. Hsieh last week to treat flu-like symptoms. A few days later, doctors admitted Hudson to the hospital to treat his H1N1 symptoms.
?It?s always scary when you've got to take a kid to the emergency room,? Odle said. ?[Hudson] was having a hard time breathing, to where we had just put him in the bath and his chest was concaving when he was trying to breathe.?
Even after taking Tamiflu for a few days, Hudson?s twin sister Remi was already showing symptoms Monday morning.
?She?s kind of giving us a scare because she got up this morning with a fever and was starting to cough like he was,? Odle said.
Dr. Hsieh said he thinks the worst is almost over, and we are in the H1N1 peak right now. That means the next couple of weeks are still going to be fairly rough with people getting sick and missing school and work.
Hsieh said the Centers for Disease Control is predicting a double-barreled flu season ― meaning we?re dealing with H1N1 now, and the seasonal flu will likely run its course after the first of the year.
http://www.wsbt.com/health/64042157.html
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