-
FluTrackers.com Inc. does not provide medical advice. Information on this web site is collected from various internet resources, and the FluTrackers board of directors makes no warranty to the safety, efficacy, correctness or completeness of the information posted on this site by any author or poster. The information collated here is for instructional and/or discussion purposes only and is NOT intended to diagnose or treat any disease, illness, or other medical condition. Every individual reader or poster should seek advice from their personal physician/healthcare practitioner before considering or using any interventions that are discussed on this website. By continuing to access this website you agree to consult your personal physican before using any interventions posted on this website, and you agree to hold harmless FluTrackers.com Inc., the board of directors, the members, and all authors and posters for any effects from use of any medication, supplement, vitamin or other substance, device, intervention, etc. mentioned in posts on this website, or other internet venues referenced in posts on this website. -
We are not asking for any donations. Do not donate to any entity who says they are raising funds for us.
Two deaths in El Paso County
- Thread starter wotan
- Start date
Re: Two deaths in El Paso County
El Paso swine flu deaths push Texas total to 5
By PAUL J. WEBER Associated Press Writer ? 2009 The Associated Press
May 29, 2009, 3:54PM
Share Print Email Del.icio.usDiggTwitterYahoo! BuzzFacebookStumbleUponSAN ANTONIO ? Swine flu-related deaths in Texas reached five on Friday after health officials in El Paso confirmed the virus in a pregnant woman and man whose initial flu tests came back negative.
The baby was delivered at 31 weeks and was doing OK, said Joanne Bates, a spokeswoman for the El Paso Department of Public Health. Both the 24-year-old mother and the other victim, a 42-year-old man, died earlier this month.
Bates said both had been given rapid flu tests ? a nasal swab that is often the first step in determining whether a patient might have the flu ? but that results came back negative. After they died at an El Paso hospital, further tests confirmed they had swine flu.
Bates and officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said rapid tests will sometimes return negative when a patient is actually infected. CDC officials said they did not have data about whether rapid flu tests may have missed, if they were given, in 15 other swine flu deaths nationwide.
"The hospital did the right thing," Bates said. "There's just variation with the results."
Dr. Tim Uyecki, a medical epidemiologist at the CDC, said that there are unfortunately limitations with rapid tests and that it's not as simple an issue as positive versus negative.
"The sensitivity of the test is not as high as you would like," Uyecki said. "The challenge is how to interpret a negative result when there's a lot of influenza going around."
There are more than 1,400 cases of swine flu in Texas, according to the Department of State Health Services. Nationwide, more than 8,900 cases have been reported.
The other Texas deaths linked to the virus have been a 33-year-old Cameron County woman; a 33-year-old Corpus Christi man; and a Mexico City toddler who had been on a family trip to visit relatives in Brownsville. The toddler died in April, while the other two were also in May.
In El Paso, the man died May 19 and the woman May 24.
Bates said she could not disclose the identity of the victims. She said investigators were working to contact families and co-workers who might have been in contact with the victims.
El Paso County has been among the hardest hit by swine flu in Texas, with more than 150 probable and confirmed cases.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6447348.html
El Paso swine flu deaths push Texas total to 5
By PAUL J. WEBER Associated Press Writer ? 2009 The Associated Press
May 29, 2009, 3:54PM
Share Print Email Del.icio.usDiggTwitterYahoo! BuzzFacebookStumbleUponSAN ANTONIO ? Swine flu-related deaths in Texas reached five on Friday after health officials in El Paso confirmed the virus in a pregnant woman and man whose initial flu tests came back negative.
The baby was delivered at 31 weeks and was doing OK, said Joanne Bates, a spokeswoman for the El Paso Department of Public Health. Both the 24-year-old mother and the other victim, a 42-year-old man, died earlier this month.
Bates said both had been given rapid flu tests ? a nasal swab that is often the first step in determining whether a patient might have the flu ? but that results came back negative. After they died at an El Paso hospital, further tests confirmed they had swine flu.
Bates and officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said rapid tests will sometimes return negative when a patient is actually infected. CDC officials said they did not have data about whether rapid flu tests may have missed, if they were given, in 15 other swine flu deaths nationwide.
"The hospital did the right thing," Bates said. "There's just variation with the results."
Dr. Tim Uyecki, a medical epidemiologist at the CDC, said that there are unfortunately limitations with rapid tests and that it's not as simple an issue as positive versus negative.
"The sensitivity of the test is not as high as you would like," Uyecki said. "The challenge is how to interpret a negative result when there's a lot of influenza going around."
There are more than 1,400 cases of swine flu in Texas, according to the Department of State Health Services. Nationwide, more than 8,900 cases have been reported.
The other Texas deaths linked to the virus have been a 33-year-old Cameron County woman; a 33-year-old Corpus Christi man; and a Mexico City toddler who had been on a family trip to visit relatives in Brownsville. The toddler died in April, while the other two were also in May.
In El Paso, the man died May 19 and the woman May 24.
Bates said she could not disclose the identity of the victims. She said investigators were working to contact families and co-workers who might have been in contact with the victims.
El Paso County has been among the hardest hit by swine flu in Texas, with more than 150 probable and confirmed cases.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6447348.html
Snicklefritz
Senior Moderator
Re: Two deaths in El Paso County
I am not one to involve myself in conversations about 'officials' and their actions, prefering instead, to stick with the facts. But, in this case there are some reasonable quesitons in need of answers.
* I think it unlikely that CDC had no information about whethere or not previous patients who died were negative or positive on rapid tests. Secondly, there is pretty clear evidence that as much as 30% of 'negatives' are not correct. I don't know if that is also true for seasonal flu, or a characteristic of this novel virus.
* Confirmation of Swine Flu infection was not done until after the patients died. Why not sooner?
It's fair, I think, to ask whether attending physicians are under pressure to adhere to testing algorithms to the detriment of their clinical experience. Have these same algorithms discouraging physicians, who are looking at the patient in the bed they are standing next to, from following their own instincts and treating 'this' patient?
* I find it interesting that health officials in these cases have declined to provide the dates of onset of symptoms, length of illness, and other important, but 'impersonal' details, but are quick to point out the patients were 'negative' for rapid tests. What is the rest of the story? Is their some explaining that needs to be done?
* Bates's judgement that the hospital "...did the right thing.", and explaining it away with 'variation' is... well...upsetting!
I am not one to involve myself in conversations about 'officials' and their actions, prefering instead, to stick with the facts. But, in this case there are some reasonable quesitons in need of answers.
* I think it unlikely that CDC had no information about whethere or not previous patients who died were negative or positive on rapid tests. Secondly, there is pretty clear evidence that as much as 30% of 'negatives' are not correct. I don't know if that is also true for seasonal flu, or a characteristic of this novel virus.
* Confirmation of Swine Flu infection was not done until after the patients died. Why not sooner?
It's fair, I think, to ask whether attending physicians are under pressure to adhere to testing algorithms to the detriment of their clinical experience. Have these same algorithms discouraging physicians, who are looking at the patient in the bed they are standing next to, from following their own instincts and treating 'this' patient?
* I find it interesting that health officials in these cases have declined to provide the dates of onset of symptoms, length of illness, and other important, but 'impersonal' details, but are quick to point out the patients were 'negative' for rapid tests. What is the rest of the story? Is their some explaining that needs to be done?
* Bates's judgement that the hospital "...did the right thing.", and explaining it away with 'variation' is... well...upsetting!
Legadillo
Resident
Re: Two deaths in El Paso County
Father Of Deceased Swine Flu Patient Talks With KFOX
Posted: 5:52 pm MDT May 29, 2009
EL PASO, Texas -- The first deaths related to swine flu in El Paso were confirmed Friday and local health authorities said they're still seeing new cases of the H1N1 flu.
"She was always fun loving and always had a smile on her face," said Ricardo Pinon, Jessica Avalos' father.
Pinon never thought his daughter had the swine flu.
The 24-year-old was pregnant when she started showing flu-like symptoms. She was in the hospital for a week, where doctors performed an emergency C-section because of complications. Avalos died on Sunday. She was one of the two people in El Paso who've now also been confirmed with having swine flu.
"What we know is that both individuals that passed away had the infection but they also had other medical conditions that may have caused their death," said Dr. Luis Escobedo.
The city's Public Health Department held a press conference to address the two deaths and answer question about why these two people, one in their 20s and one in their 40s died of complications
"People that were younger were not exposed to those related strains of influenza and therefore they're more vulnerable because they lack immunity. Their level of immunity is much less than older people," said Escobedo.
Health Department officials explained how tests for both victims were conducted upon arrival to the hospitals, but they initially tested negative for influenza. The Health Department became involved and confirmed both cases as swine flu.
"She's left us but we have four little angels with us now," said Pinon.
Because both victims died of complications, the cause of their deaths remains under investigation.
Father Of Deceased Swine Flu Patient Talks With KFOX
Posted: 5:52 pm MDT May 29, 2009
EL PASO, Texas -- The first deaths related to swine flu in El Paso were confirmed Friday and local health authorities said they're still seeing new cases of the H1N1 flu.
"She was always fun loving and always had a smile on her face," said Ricardo Pinon, Jessica Avalos' father.
Pinon never thought his daughter had the swine flu.
The 24-year-old was pregnant when she started showing flu-like symptoms. She was in the hospital for a week, where doctors performed an emergency C-section because of complications. Avalos died on Sunday. She was one of the two people in El Paso who've now also been confirmed with having swine flu.
"What we know is that both individuals that passed away had the infection but they also had other medical conditions that may have caused their death," said Dr. Luis Escobedo.
The city's Public Health Department held a press conference to address the two deaths and answer question about why these two people, one in their 20s and one in their 40s died of complications
"People that were younger were not exposed to those related strains of influenza and therefore they're more vulnerable because they lack immunity. Their level of immunity is much less than older people," said Escobedo.
Health Department officials explained how tests for both victims were conducted upon arrival to the hospitals, but they initially tested negative for influenza. The Health Department became involved and confirmed both cases as swine flu.
"She's left us but we have four little angels with us now," said Pinon.
Because both victims died of complications, the cause of their deaths remains under investigation.
Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Re: Two deaths in El Paso County
Source: http://www.elpasotimes.com/health/ci_12483013
2 deaths linked to flu: Victims include mother, 42-year-old
By Erica Molina Johnson / El Paso Times
Posted: 05/30/2009 12:00:00 AM MDT
EL PASO -- Swine flu is suspected as the cause of death for two El Pasoans last week, including a woman who gave birth three days before she died, health department officials said Friday.
The victims, a 42-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman, died at El Paso hospitals after being treated for respiratory problems. After their deaths, both tested positive for the H1N1 influenza virus.
Jessica Avalos, 24, thought she had a cold she could not shake, relatives said.
Her father, Ricardo Pi?on, said she felt sick and then started to get better before falling sick again. She felt so ill by May 18 that Avalos, who was pregnant with her fourth child, asked her family to take her to Del Sol Medical Center.
Doctors delivered her son by Caesarean section three days later.
They kept her sedated until her death three days later. She never met little Jessie, who has not fallen ill.
The city Public Health Department has not confirmed that swine flu was the actual cause of death for Avalos, who died May 24, or the still unidentified 42-year-old man, who died May 19.
The cause of death for both should be determined within the next week.
Health officials did not confirm Avalos' identity, but said the female victim lived on the East Side and gave birth three days before dying on May 24.
Pi?on said he still had not received more details about his daughter's death, including whether she tested positive for the H1N1 virus.
His grandchildren -- Avalos' daughters -- played in the driveway of his far East Side home on Friday afternoon as he watched news coverage of the deaths and reflected on his daughter's life.
"She always had a smile on her face. She was a happy girl and everybody liked her at work," Pi?on said. "She was always trying to help people. She tried to help too much sometimes.
"You don't ever plan on burying your youngsters," he said.
The Eastwood High School graduate was buried Thursday at Mount Carmel Cemetery.
"She always found a way to get things done, no matter the obstacle," said Avalos' brother, Rick Pi?on Jr.
Dr. Hector Ocaranza, health authority for the city and the county, said both people who died had underlying medical conditions that contributed to the severity of their illness. Both were very ill when they sought hospital treatment.
The younger Pi?on said that in addition to his sister's pregnancy, she had been sick for about two months and was diagnosed with bronchitis shortly before being admitted to the hospital.
Dr. Luis Escobedo, Texas Department of State Health Services director of health services for the region, said people who are pregnant or who have other medical conditions that might leave them in a weakened state should see a doctor right away if they begin to feel sick.
He said these people might have a greater chance of experiencing the virus severely if they're infected.
The conditions that should warrant greater attention include diabetes, heart disease, organ transplant and other conditions that can suppress the immune system.
Ocaranza said 122 people in El Paso are confirmed to have been infected by the virus, but most already have recovered. About 50 more cases are identified as "probable" H1N1 virus cases.
Of all the patients who were confirmed to have or suspected of having the swine flu virus, 17 were hospitalized. Health officials said three or four patients remain in hospitals but did not elaborate.
Despite the two deaths tied to the swine flu, Ocaranza said there was no need for panic.
Most cases, he said, are mild, and the patients recover in a few days.
He said it is reasonable to assume the number of cases seen in El Paso will continue to rise, though the virus still is expected to wane as the region enters summer.
Escobedo said there are likely to be outbreaks in pockets of the nation and possibly in the El Paso region.
For now, the number of new cases being referred to the health department for swine flu testing is declining, said Pat Fowler, the department's interim director of community health.
He stressed that people should continue to practice frequent hand-washing and to use hand-sanitizing lotions when hand washing is not possible. In addition, he said, people need to cover their nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing. They need to stay home if they're sick.
Health officials said there have been no deaths from seasonal flu in El Paso this year.
Erica Molina Johnson may be reached at emolina@elpasotimes.com; 546-6132.
Source: http://www.elpasotimes.com/health/ci_12483013
2 deaths linked to flu: Victims include mother, 42-year-old
By Erica Molina Johnson / El Paso Times
Posted: 05/30/2009 12:00:00 AM MDT
EL PASO -- Swine flu is suspected as the cause of death for two El Pasoans last week, including a woman who gave birth three days before she died, health department officials said Friday.
The victims, a 42-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman, died at El Paso hospitals after being treated for respiratory problems. After their deaths, both tested positive for the H1N1 influenza virus.
Jessica Avalos, 24, thought she had a cold she could not shake, relatives said.
Her father, Ricardo Pi?on, said she felt sick and then started to get better before falling sick again. She felt so ill by May 18 that Avalos, who was pregnant with her fourth child, asked her family to take her to Del Sol Medical Center.
Doctors delivered her son by Caesarean section three days later.
They kept her sedated until her death three days later. She never met little Jessie, who has not fallen ill.
The city Public Health Department has not confirmed that swine flu was the actual cause of death for Avalos, who died May 24, or the still unidentified 42-year-old man, who died May 19.
The cause of death for both should be determined within the next week.
Health officials did not confirm Avalos' identity, but said the female victim lived on the East Side and gave birth three days before dying on May 24.
Pi?on said he still had not received more details about his daughter's death, including whether she tested positive for the H1N1 virus.
His grandchildren -- Avalos' daughters -- played in the driveway of his far East Side home on Friday afternoon as he watched news coverage of the deaths and reflected on his daughter's life.
"She always had a smile on her face. She was a happy girl and everybody liked her at work," Pi?on said. "She was always trying to help people. She tried to help too much sometimes.
"You don't ever plan on burying your youngsters," he said.
The Eastwood High School graduate was buried Thursday at Mount Carmel Cemetery.
"She always found a way to get things done, no matter the obstacle," said Avalos' brother, Rick Pi?on Jr.
Dr. Hector Ocaranza, health authority for the city and the county, said both people who died had underlying medical conditions that contributed to the severity of their illness. Both were very ill when they sought hospital treatment.
The younger Pi?on said that in addition to his sister's pregnancy, she had been sick for about two months and was diagnosed with bronchitis shortly before being admitted to the hospital.
Dr. Luis Escobedo, Texas Department of State Health Services director of health services for the region, said people who are pregnant or who have other medical conditions that might leave them in a weakened state should see a doctor right away if they begin to feel sick.
He said these people might have a greater chance of experiencing the virus severely if they're infected.
The conditions that should warrant greater attention include diabetes, heart disease, organ transplant and other conditions that can suppress the immune system.
Ocaranza said 122 people in El Paso are confirmed to have been infected by the virus, but most already have recovered. About 50 more cases are identified as "probable" H1N1 virus cases.
Of all the patients who were confirmed to have or suspected of having the swine flu virus, 17 were hospitalized. Health officials said three or four patients remain in hospitals but did not elaborate.
Despite the two deaths tied to the swine flu, Ocaranza said there was no need for panic.
Most cases, he said, are mild, and the patients recover in a few days.
He said it is reasonable to assume the number of cases seen in El Paso will continue to rise, though the virus still is expected to wane as the region enters summer.
Escobedo said there are likely to be outbreaks in pockets of the nation and possibly in the El Paso region.
For now, the number of new cases being referred to the health department for swine flu testing is declining, said Pat Fowler, the department's interim director of community health.
He stressed that people should continue to practice frequent hand-washing and to use hand-sanitizing lotions when hand washing is not possible. In addition, he said, people need to cover their nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing. They need to stay home if they're sick.
Health officials said there have been no deaths from seasonal flu in El Paso this year.
Erica Molina Johnson may be reached at emolina@elpasotimes.com; 546-6132.
Snicklefritz
Senior Moderator
Re: Two deaths in El Paso County
Dr. Luis Escobedo said:
CDC Press Briefing May 21,2009
http://www.cdc.gov/media/transcripts/2009/t090521.htm
Dr. Escobido has said is a bit more than CDC has said. This is a good example of a carelessly worded statement that gets picked up and repeated ad infinitum until it becomes a fact in the public's mind.
Dr. Luis Escobedo said:
CDC Press Briefing May 21,2009
(emphasis mine)
http://www.cdc.gov/media/transcripts/2009/t090521.htm
Dr. Escobido has said is a bit more than CDC has said. This is a good example of a carelessly worded statement that gets picked up and repeated ad infinitum until it becomes a fact in the public's mind.
hornblower
Moderator
Re: Two deaths in El Paso County
There have been cases among older people. BC reported a case >65 this week.
There have been cases among older people. BC reported a case >65 this week.