New York City, USA - Queens Educator Dies With Swine Flu; 16 Schools Closed

[Shiloh]

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 3 Schools Closed

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 3 Schools Closed

Source: http://www.wpix.com/news/local/wpix-experimental-treatment-swine-patients,0,3295824.story
(Note: Use link above to access video)

New Experimental Treatment Being Used to Help Critical Swine Flu Patient
The device, about the size of a printer, is called a Hemo-Modulator, currently an experimental treatment for those suffering from HIV and Hepatitis C.

BY ARTHUR CHI'EN| wpix.com

May 15, 2009
NEW YORK (WPIX) - "Obviously he's in a desperate situation." Thomas Fagan, the President of the New Jersey based company Energex, was candid tonight about being called in to treat Swine Flu patient Mitch Wiener, an Assistant Principal whose school has 4 other confirmed H1N1 cases and has been closed down by city officials.

The device, about the size of a printer, is called a Hemo-Modulator, currently an experimental treatment for those suffering from HIV and Hepatitis C. We first told you about the device in a special report on the PIX News at Ten more than a year ago. The Hemo-Modulator extracts a small amount of blood from the patient and exposes it to an exact amount of ultra-violent light. Researches believe the ultra-violet light deactivates the virus, after which the blood is returned to the patient's body. The idea of the treatment is to convert the blood to a personal vaccine, stimulating the patient's immune system and allowing it to fight back.

The device have been successful in animal testing, although there's no way to predict how that will translate into human clinical results.

Shortly after 5pm today, Fagan arrived at Flushing Hospital where Wiener is being kept alive on a ventilator. Wheeling in a Hemo-Modulator, he first met with the assistant principal's family. They quickly okayed the experimental treatment. Sources tell Ch11 to temper expectations however, considering the patient now suffers from an array of complications including kidney failure and pneumonia.

Fagan says it will take about a day to see if the treatment is helping Wiener. We will keep you posted.

 

[thebes]

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 3 Schools Closed

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 3 Schools Closed

Does anyone know - would it be standard procedure for the family to wear full body protection or does this indicate they might be more worried about Mr. Weiner's particular virus?

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/05/16/2009-05-16_queens_assistant_principal_.html

A Queens assistant principal who nearly died from the swine flu showed "slight improvement" overnight as his tormented family maintained a vigil at his hospital bedside.

"Nothing has gotten worse," Adam Wiener, 23, the eldest son of beloved teacher Mitchell Wiener said Saturday. "There is reason to hope."

Mitchell Wiener, a 31-year teaching veteran assigned to Intermediate School 238 in Queens, remained unconscious for a third day at Flushing Hospital.

Wiener, who became incoherent after his fever spiked, arrived at the facility Wednesday morning.

His wife, Bonnie, along with twin sons Farrell and Jordan, stayed with the 55-year-old all night in his room, according to Adam Wiener.

The family was forced to wear full-body protective suits to avoid contamination by the virus.

IS 238 is one of a half-dozen city school shut down Thursday and Friday over concerns of the spreading swine flu, although city officials stressed the outbreaks were isolated.

Five of the schools were in Queens: IS 238 in Hollis, IS 5 in Elmhurst, Public School 16 in Corona, Junior High School 74 in Bayside and PS 107 in Flushing.

The sixth, IS 318, is in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

The Wiener family, along with parents and elected officials, questioned whether the city was responding quickly enough to flu clusters in their schools.

Mayor Bloomberg said the closings were handled on a school by school basis.

More schools could close before Monday, said teachers union president Randi Weingarten. Her staff received reports from 21 schools - including the three closed Friday - of a high number of student absences.

 

[hawkeye]

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 6 Schools Closed

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 6 Schools Closed

probably not standard protocol, however he is in serious condition, so they do not know what they could potentially be dealing with or exposing others too. Better safe than sorry

 

[tropical]

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 3 Schools Closed

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 3 Schools Closed

Does anyone know - would it be standard procedure for the family to wear full body protection or does this indicate they might be more worried about Mr. Weiner's particular virus?

If the family are the ones who additionaly care for him in the isolation room, and later are allowed to going home, than it could be standard.

But if they are not care engaged, and they only cames to visit him,
such procedure is suspect, especialy because they were already deeply in contact with him previously at home, when he was already infectious.

Maybe thay feared some new virus mutation is in the patient?

I guess this isolation room have hermetic glasses(?),
or it is fresh aired normaly?

 

[Sally Furniss]

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 6 Schools Closed

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 6 Schools Closed

Energex proposes HemoModulation therapy for treatment of H1N1 swine flu

8 May 2009
Energex Systems Inc. has announced that it has notified the FDA of its interest in applying for an Emergency Use Approval that would permit the company to offer its HemoModulation therapy for the treatment of influenza type A(H1N1), otherwise known as swine flu.
HemoModulation therapy was shown to inactivate the virus in mice. This same therapy has been under review by the FDA and is in human clinical trials for Hepatitis C and HIV.
HemoModulation therapy is a process using precise amounts of UVC energy on a small sample of the patient's blood to inactivate the particular strain of virus that the patient is infected with, and returning the blood to the body. The hypothesis is that UV inactivated virus will serve as an autologous vaccine and boost the immune system of the patient against their particular strain of virus.
The process takes approximately 30 minutes and can be administered in an office, lab or any other healthcare facility.
In animal studies, says Thomas Petrie, the company?s Director of Research & Development, the therapy produced discernable and substantial improvement in both clinical disease and pulmonary function in mice infected with the H1N1 virus.
Minimal clinical illness was observed up to 9 days post infection for those animals that were treated. In contrast, the SHAM-treated animals developed severe illness by day 6 that did not significantly resolve through the 13-day course of the study.
As measured by pulmonary lung function testing, infected animals that were treated with HemoModulation therapy exhibited a significantly greater ability to breathe relative to their sham-treated counterparts and pathological examination of lungs clearly indicated that treatment significantly inhibited virus induced inflammation resulting in airways that were for the most part, clear of inflammatory cells and cellular debris.
In contrast, the lungs of the sham-treated animals had airways that were filled with inflammatory cells and blood, and exhibited substantial destruction of cells lining the airways.



http://mtbeurope.info/news/2009/905019.htm

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 3 Schools Closed

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 3 Schools Closed

It can also occur in brain involvement.

Also can occur with ARDS, even when fever and hypoxia are already controlled. Had it happen to me, and its a very wild thing.

High dose steroids can cause it, but IMHO very unikely in this case since it was a presenting symptom. Was not unusual with ARDS pts when we were stuffing them with steroids before they were found to be a problem.

And - before the hospiral admission - patient could be dehydratated?

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 6 Schools Closed

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 6 Schools Closed

Energex proposes HemoModulation therapy for treatment of H1N1 swine flu

8 May 2009
Energex Systems Inc. has announced that it has notified the FDA of its interest in applying for an Emergency Use Approval that would permit the company to offer its HemoModulation therapy for the treatment of influenza type A(H1N1), otherwise known as swine flu.
HemoModulation therapy was shown to inactivate the virus in mice. This same therapy has been under review by the FDA and is in human clinical trials for Hepatitis C and HIV.
HemoModulation therapy is a process using precise amounts of UVC energy on a small sample of the patient's blood to inactivate the particular strain of virus that the patient is infected with, and returning the blood to the body. The hypothesis is that UV inactivated virus will serve as an autologous vaccine and boost the immune system of the patient against their particular strain of virus.
The process takes approximately 30 minutes and can be administered in an office, lab or any other healthcare facility.
In animal studies, says Thomas Petrie, the company?s Director of Research & Development, the therapy produced discernable and substantial improvement in both clinical disease and pulmonary function in mice infected with the H1N1 virus.
Minimal clinical illness was observed up to 9 days post infection for those animals that were treated. In contrast, the SHAM-treated animals developed severe illness by day 6 that did not significantly resolve through the 13-day course of the study.
As measured by pulmonary lung function testing, infected animals that were treated with HemoModulation therapy exhibited a significantly greater ability to breathe relative to their sham-treated counterparts and pathological examination of lungs clearly indicated that treatment significantly inhibited virus induced inflammation resulting in airways that were for the most part, clear of inflammatory cells and cellular debris.
In contrast, the lungs of the sham-treated animals had airways that were filled with inflammatory cells and blood, and exhibited substantial destruction of cells lining the airways.



http://mtbeurope.info/news/2009/905019.htm

But we are sure that the patient is actually treated under this investigational device?

I have some doubts.

Are there details about hemodialysis?

 

[St Michael]

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 3 Schools Closed

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 3 Schools Closed

The family was forced to wear full-body protective suits to avoid contamination by the virus.

We're at stage 5 on the WHO pandemic scale. What is the point of full-body protective suits now?!? The time for that is long past.

This story gets more bizarre with each passing hour.

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 3 Schools Closed

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 3 Schools Closed

We're at stage 5 on the WHO pandemic scale. What is the point of full-body protective suits now?!? The time for that is long past.

This story gets more bizarre with each passing hour.

It is totally correct for an hospital ward to decrease the chances of further infection spread among relatives and other patients.

Some hospital facilities outside US keep patient isolated physically from relatives through glass screens or windows.

I saw a case of pneumonia in a young patient in an isolation ward in Italy several years ago. The pathogen wasn't so dangerous as a virus with pandemic potential; despite this, relatives were kept outside the ward, and communications were possible through a phone, placed in a terrace outside the facility.

 

[St Michael]

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 3 Schools Closed

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 3 Schools Closed

It is totally correct for an hospital ward to decrease the chances of further infection spread among relatives and other patients.

You are absolutely correct, please forgive me if my post sounded as if I was implying otherwise.

I'm just trying to point out the cognitive dissonance between this individual case management with full protective suits, and the wider refusal to address the seriousness of this virus in general. There is a major disconnect between the particulars of this one case and the generalities we are being told.

If this one case requires full protective suits now, why weren't his concerns a week ago taken seriously, and why aren't the authorities now addressing it in general with such aggressive measures?

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 3 Schools Closed

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 3 Schools Closed

You are absolutely correct, please forgive me if my post sounded as if I was implying otherwise.

I'm just trying to point out the cognitive dissonance between this individual case management with full protective suits, and the wider refusal to address the seriousness of this virus in general. There is a major disconnect between the particulars of this one case and the generalities we are being told.

If this one case requires full protective suits now, why weren't his concerns a week ago taken seriously, and why aren't the authorities now addressing it in general with such aggressive measures?

The fact that a patient is in critical condition per se require that relatives keep a safe distance from him to avoid their microbes cause super-infections.

In addition, it is possible that the patient is under antivirals and selection of resistant variants may be in the mind of HCWs and the strict isolation is a way to reduce even the risk of relatives' infection with a resistant virus.

For people with self-limiting disease, it could be of little sense to impose a measure of such extent.

 

[tropical]

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 3 Schools Closed

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 3 Schools Closed

...
why aren't the authorities now addressing it in general with such aggressive measures?

They rely on the remote possibility that this would be one of an esigue number of serious dangerous patients, and crossfingers.

But such policy permited the more wide previous spreadings into the country, with the "sparing" quarantines.

The additional Iron. previous post explanations are correct.

The problem is only that the family members are probably already incubated because of the previous close house contact with the man.
Or they are immune?

Maybe the folks must wore the full gear all the time they travell from home to the hospital, during, and back ...

 

[LMonty]

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 3 Schools Closed

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 3 Schools Closed

my guess is because those are likely the formal infection control policies already in effect at that hospital for dealing with airborne/droplet transmission illnesses. thats what it sounds like to me, anyway.

 

[tropical]

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 6 Schools Closed

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 6 Schools Closed

Maybe, maybe they overreact now because of fear.

But for the airborne/droplet/surface transmission is usualy enaugh wearing a respirator and gloves.

So the situation remains potentialy clouded.

if the virus are the same as in the several hundreds of pupils infected, staying at home and spreading it to their family, than no full gear are needed because of this virus at the hospital.

If his virus is maybe suspect, or his body is very weakened from the illness and the collateral insurged additional illnesses, it is needed an very strict preventive shielding wearing when entering the room.

We can ask the folks at the hospital, but now is subentered the new informations law about public officials info news, so it would be more dificult to got a public detailed information prior their willingly release brifing ...

 

[Evelyn]

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 6 Schools Closed

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 6 Schools Closed

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-nyprin1712775582may16,0,7846053.story

Flu-stricken NYC principal's family has 'more hope'
BY PERVAIZ SHALLWANI | Special to Newsday
4:43 PM EDT, May 16, 2009

As doctors at Flushing Hospital Medical Center battle the aggressive H1N1 virus, the eldest son of flu-stricken IS 238 assistant principal Mitchell Wiener said Saturday that the family has "reasons for more hope now."

Adam Wiener, 23, said doctors are attacking his father's severe illness "pretty aggressively" with both new and standard treatments.

Mitchell Wiener's wife, Bonnie, and three sons, who have been at the hospital around the clock since his hospitalization on Wednesday, see positive signs that he has not deteriorated over the past two days and that his "body has been responding" to treatments, Adam Wiener said.

Still, the 55-year-old's medical condition is dire: The teacher and administrator of 31 years - all at IS 238 in Hollis - is suffering kidney failure, dehydration and a lung infection. He was on a breathing tube and had had kidney dialysis in the past 24 hours, Adam Wiener said.

The entire family, including twin sons, Farrell and Jordan, 18, spent Friday night at the hospital, Adam Weiner said. The family has been going home in shifts to refresh, shower and rest, he said.

Weiner works at one of the six city public schools closed by the city Department of Health because of confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus.

In addition to IS 238, PS 16 in Corona and IS 5 in Elmhurst were closed on Thursday. JHS 74 in Bayside, PS 107 in Flushing and IS 318 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, were closed Friday because of "unusually high levels of influenza-like symptoms," a health official said.

All of those schools will be closed through next week.

Mitchell Wiener was the point person for H1N1 cases at IS 238 and first began feeling the effects May 8, when he came home from work suffering from flulike symptoms, family members said.

After his health deteriorated Tuesday and in the early morning hours of Wednesday, he was admitted to Flushing Hospital Medical Center early Wednesday morning. On Thursday, doctors confirmed that Wiener had the H1N1 virus.

Speaking to reporters Friday, Wiener's wife, Bonnie, said the city failed to act swiftly when students began to fall ill.

"I am outraged," she said Friday. "What does it take to close the schools? We can close because of snow but not a disease, which can kill you."

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, appearing Friday with city Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden outside an Elmhurst diner, defended waiting to close the school until later, saying school closures aren't taken lightly.

"We have to make decisions on each school individually, and if you close the school it doesn't mean that people aren't going to get sick," Bloomberg said. "Each school is different, and we will evaluate."

IS 238 officials notified the health department May 6 about sick students, city officials said. Seven students were swabbed the next day, and four were considered probable by May 8. The cases were confirmed last weekend, and school officials were notified Monday, three days before health officials closed the school Thursday, officials said.

On Friday, Adam Weiner missed his last day as a student teacher at Lawrence Road Middle School in the Uniondale School District to be with his father at the hospital.

In a statement, the district said it had been told that "a student teacher has been exposed" to the virus. "He has not yet exhibited any symptoms," the district statement said.

Frieden said Friday the city is seeing "larger clusters" of swine flu, though most of the symptoms are mild.

"It appears, at this point at least in schools in New York City, to be spreading more rapidly than traditional influenza spreads. We don't know why that is," Frieden said Friday.

At JHS 74 in Bayside, 26 students reported flulike symptoms, and at PS 107 in Flushing, 49 students reported flulike illness, officials said. At IS 318 in Williamsburg, there were 53 students with flulike symptoms.

Those three public schools have a combined student population of more than 3,400. The schools will be closed until May 26, officials said.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 6 Schools Closed

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 6 Schools Closed

Source: http://www.nypost.com/seven/0517200...ens/3_more_queens_schools_to_close_169751.htm

3 MORE QUEENS SCHOOLS TO CLOSE

By ALEX GINSBERG and SALLY GOLDENBERG
Posted: 3:22 pm
May 17, 2009

City officials ordered three more schools closed today, bringing to nine the total shuttered this coming week to try to halt the spread of swine flu.

The three schools, all in Queens, are IS 158Q in Bayside, IS 25Q in Flushing and Our Lady of Lourdes, a private parochial school.

City Health Department officials said the decision to close the schools was made after high numbers of students at each building reported flu-like symptoms. But no results are available yet confirming that any of them is suffering from the H1N1 virus, health officials said.

At IS 158Q, 41 students out of a total population of 1,127 students reported the symptoms, the Health Dept. said. At IS 25Q, 27 felt sick out of a total of 825 students, and at Our Lady of Lourdes, 37 students were ill out of a total population of 424.

The schools will remain shuttered for a minimum of five days.

Six schools were already under closure before today: JHS 74Q (Bayside), PS 107Q (Flushing), IS 318K (Williamsburg, Brooklyn), IS 238Q (Jamaica), PS 16Q (Corona) and IS 5Q (Elmhurst).

 

[theforeigner]

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 9 Schools Closed

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 9 Schools Closed

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local...icials_to_close_5_more_schools_in_queens.html

Swine Flu forces city officials to close 5 more schools in Queens
BY Erin Einhorn AND Meredith Kolodner
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Updated Sunday, May 17th 2009, 3:51 PM



Read more: "Swine Flu forces city officials to close 5 more schools in Queens" - http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local...5_more_schools_in_queens.html#ixzz0Fnfl8rM9&A



Five more schools inside three buildings in Queens will be closed Monday after dozens more students came down with flu symptoms, officials said Sunday.

The closures by the city's Department of Health bring the total number of schools currently shuttered because of swine flu to 11, meaning thousands of kids will miss class this week.

None of the newly announced schools have confirmed cases of the illness, but enough students were feeling sick that officials thought closures were necessary to halt the spread.

"We are now seeing a rising tide of flu in many parts of New York City," said New York City Health Commissioner Thomas R. Frieden. "With the virus spreading widely, closing these and other individual schools will make little difference in transmission throughout New York City, but we hope will help slow transmission within the individual school communities.

At Middle School 158 in Bayside, 41 students out of 1,127 fell ill. Intermediate School 25 in Flushing will also shut its doors after 27 of its 825 students came down with signs of the flu.

Parochial school Our Lady of Lourdes in Queens Village, where 37 out of 424 students are sick, also will be shuttered.

Though no students fell ill at the World Journalism Preparatory High School or special education school 233, they will both be closed because they are located in the same building as IS 25.

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein said he thought the Health Department was handling the crisis in a "thoughtful and intelligent way."

Last week some teachers and parents from IS 238 -- where dozens of students were sick and an assistant principal remains critically ill -- argued that the school should have been closed earlier in the week when large numbers of children reported flu symptoms.

Klein said the city did not plan to change its protocols.

"I don't want to suggest we're not learning anything," the Chancellor said after receiving an honorary degree and giving the keynote address at the Fordham Law School graduation in midtown.

"Every day we get new information and we make decisions based on that."

Asked whether the city would release the guidelines for closing schools, Klein said an array of conditions factored into the decision. "I don't think you can do this by numbers," he said.



Read more: "Swine Flu forces city officials to close 5 more schools in Queens" - http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local...5_more_schools_in_queens.html#ixzz0FnfYJUUu&A

 

[tropical]

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 6 Schools Closed

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 6 Schools Closed

...
3 MORE QUEENS SCHOOLS TO CLOSE

By ALEX GINSBERG and SALLY GOLDENBERG
Posted: 3:22 pm
May 17, 2009
...
... the decision to close the schools was made after high numbers of students at each building reported flu-like symptoms. ...

The schools will remain shuttered for a minimum of five days.

...

Looking the "spare 5 days" in an already high infections number educations building which usualy have few months of summer hollidays,

I'm starting to digit that in our actual society, industrial facilities could be shut down easily because of economic/market reasons,

but acquire that because of an highly infectious potentialy deadly, health ruining pandemic, the educational facilities could gain even few weeks more than usual of additional shut down, is an mission impossible ...

Hopefully the optimal closure would be mantained at 10 days, not 5 ...

 

[Commonground]

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 11 Schools Closed

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 11 Schools Closed

So, he was not able to take any Tamiflu. And, as reported above....

...is suffering kidney failure, dehydration and a lung infection. He was on a breathing tube and had had kidney dialysis in the past 24 hours, Adam Wiener said.

The Daily News reports that Wiener, who had kidney failure and was unable to take swine flu treatment due to pneumonia and other infections, is now undergoing experimental blood therapy.

 

[tropical]

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 11 Schools Closed

Re: New York City, USA - Queens Educator Critically Ill With Swine Flu; 11 Schools Closed

So, he was not able to take any Tamiflu. And, as reported above....

because he was working between infectious spreading pupils, instead all these schools were grounded at the first case of flu there.

Obviously the so pointed guidelines must be corrected if the folks there don't want to take part as consensual spreaders.

Somewhere there are laws which subject spreaders of serious infections (as AIDS), if they known previously the fact to have it, to the court ...

He probably guess that things goes bad, but nobody officialy react proactively, as it seems from the news.

The docs presents it early as ordinary flu afecting the school, and he passed a whole week with symptoms, so the 48 hours for Tamiflu taking were gone away.


#34: Adam Wiener said his father had been sick since at least last weekend with flu-like symptoms "but we didn't think anything of it." Then early Wednesday, he said, the family called 911 after his father began "hallucinating and wasn't coherent."

#8: "A lot of the students had flulike symptoms," she said.
One parent, Chanmattie Kandasami of Hollis, said her son Joel, who is a seventh-grader at IS 238, came home with a fever Wednesday night. He was also nauseous and had a headache, she said. She said she took him to the doctor Thursday, who told her it was the "regular flu."