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jdljr1
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Topic: Mystery Illness Maryland Kills 75%. Posted: March 06 2012 at 3:36pm |
Ominous story on multiple websites today, but thus far an isolated incident-I hope. John L.
The Calvert County Health Department is investigating a cluster of deaths following respiratory illnesses in the Lusby area.
The county health department told News4 four family members who live near the Calvert Cliffs nuclear facility fell ill with an unidentified respiratory illness at the end of February, and three died this month.
An 81-year-old woman was the first to become sick, in late February. The woman's three adult children, two daughters and a son, traveled to her home to care for her. Subsquently, they became sick with similar health problems.
According to the health department, the 81-year-old died presented symptoms of respiratory illness Feb. 23 and died March 1. The children showed symptoms around Feb. 28 and were hospitalized in critical condition. Several days later, the 58-year-old son and the 56-year-old daughter died, and the third daughter remains hospitalized.
One of the bodies was taken to Baltimore for an autopsy, Maryland Medical Examiner David Fowler said
Health officer David Rogers, in a statement released March 6, said the county health department does not believe the illness represents a widespread health threat. Health officials have not recommended protective actions for the general public.
"The cases appear to be confined to a single family," Rogers wrote, "and there are currently no other affected individuals at this time. CCHD is not recommending any protective actions for the general public."
In an earlier statement, the county erroneously reported four deaths.
The department recommends people with flu-like symptoms like fever, cough or sore throat contact their doctors to see if they would benefit from antiviral or other medications. Currently, county health officials are not advising any specific preventive measures.
CCHD sent a message to area residents to say it was working together with health care providers to monitor the situation and determine a cause for the respiratory illness. A spokesperson told News4 the victims' proximity to the power plant was not believed to be a factor.
Monday afternoon, a crew of health workers dressed in hazardous material suits entered the woman's house and collected more samples for testing.
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SheepLady
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Posted: March 06 2012 at 7:37pm |
Hello, All,
Thanks to John L for a very good post. He is on the ball.
I remembered we were really looking for these symptoms a few years ago, detailed in these reports. My heart goes out to this family.
I have been trying to post a couple of links detailing the symptoms but they seem to be no longer working.
I am puzzled at this. A certain word or site seems not to come up except as asterisks?
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Albert
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Posted: March 07 2012 at 3:33am |
Good job John.
Apparently it's influenza A.
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Albert
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Posted: March 07 2012 at 3:41am |
Mysterious flu strain nearly wipes out family as two siblings die taking care of sickened mother... and the third sibling remains deathly ill
A mysterious flu strain nearly wiped out a family, killing an 81-year-old woman and two of her children who were taking care of her. A third sibling remains deathly ill.
Lou Ruth Blake took sick with a respiratory infection February 23 and her son and two daughters rushed to her home in rural Lusby, Maryland.
Five days later, her children all came down with similar symptoms, likely tied to a particularly virulent bout of the flu.
Suit up: CDC and state health officials took no chances searching the home where four people caught a deadly strain of flu
Fell ill: Lou Ruth Blake, 81, died five days before two of her children who were taking care of her
But there were further complications. When Ms Blake's three children went to the hospital, they were coughing up blood and showed signs of a staph bacterial infections, as well, the Washington Post reported.
Ms Blake died March 1 at MedStar Washington Hospital Center after being treated for Influenza A and underlying medical conditions.
Her son Lowell, 58, and her daughter Vanessa, 56, died Monday -- five days after their mother -- after they were hospitalized with the same virulent flu strain, as well.
Ms Blake's second daughter, age 51, is currently in critical condition with the same collection of symptoms -- a deadly respiratory infection caused by Influenza A and a staph infection.
On Tuesday, officials from the Maryland Department of Health and the federal Centers for Disease Control wearing full containment suits -- complete with air tanks so they wouldn't breathe the air -- searched the house for clues about what might have made the flu so potent.
Dr William Schaffner, chair of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told ABC News a traditional flu virus might have mutated when Ms Blake caught it into an enhanced version of the deadly 'Swine Flu' from two years ago.
However, the Calvert County Health Officer Dr David L. Rogers told WUSA-TV the strain seems to be contained to only Ms Blake's family who stayed at her house. There is no reason to believe anyone else could contract that particular flu virus, he added.
Officials with the CDC will conduct autopsies to determine exactly which strain of the flu virus killed the family.
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coyote
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Posted: March 07 2012 at 5:04am |
CIDRAP: Maryland officials probe fatal respiratory illness cluster
Mar 6, 2012 (CIDRAP News) - Maryland health officials are investigating a cluster of severe respiratory illnesses in a Calvert County family that led to the deaths of an elderly woman and two adult children who cared for her.
The Calvert County Health Department (CCHD), which released the first details about the cases in an e-mail alert, posted a press release on its Web site today and has updated the information twice as new details became available. (Snip) it is investigating a cluster of illnesses and deaths in a Lusby area family. (Snip) the illnesses are confined to a single family, and the CCHD isn't recommending any specific precautions for the general public.
The first case is in an 81-year-old woman who got sick on Feb 23 at her home, where she received care from three of her children, a son and two daughters. The caregivers became ill with similar upper respiratory symptoms on Feb 28. All were hospitalized. The woman, her 58-year-old son, and her 56-year-old daughter died, and the other daughter is hospitalized at Washington Hospital Center. As of 4:30 pm US eastern time this afternoon, no new cases had been reported. The CCHD said the state medical examiner is investigating deaths to determine the cause of the illnesses.
(Snip) state health officials are working with local health officials to investigate the cause of the illnesses and that the state's public health lab will conduct additional testing. (Snip) the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is aware of the situation.
Calvert County Public Schools posted a health alert on its Web site today, saying the district was in contact with the CCHD, which so far has not advised schools to take any specific precautions.
(Snip)
A CCHD spokesperson said the family's proximity to Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant was not believed to be a factor in the outbreak (Snip) Lusby is located in southern Maryland, and an earlier version of the CCHD press release said the woman's home was in a rural setting.
The CCHD (Snip) urged people with flulike illnesses to contact their healthcare providers. http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidr...
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Albert
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Posted: March 07 2012 at 7:40am |
There are not a lot of precautions they can take at this point. If this flu bug get its legs, there won't be a lot they can do to help anyone either way.
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jacksdad
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Posted: March 07 2012 at 8:21am |
Albert wrote:
When Ms Blake's three children went to the hospital, they were coughing up blood... |
That's a little ominous.
Let's hope it doesn't get it's legs, A
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"Buy it cheap. Stack it deep" "Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary.
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jacksdad
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Posted: March 07 2012 at 8:48am |
UPDATE: Unexplained Calvert Deaths
Calvert County, MD - 3/7/2012
CALVERT COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT PRESS RELEASE:
Initial testing of two of four family members in Lusby, three of whom have died, suggests that the serious lung infection suffered by all four was a complication of seasonal flu. A fourth family member remains hospitalized at Washington Hospital Center and is improving.
Samples have been sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta for further testing.
These cases of serious lung infection were isolated to a single family and there are currently no other affected individuals. Local healthcare providers are not reporting any significant increase in patients with flu-like symptoms.
The illnesses in these family members began with an 81-year-old Lusby woman who developed respiratory symptoms at her home beginning on or about February 23, 2012. She was cared for at home by three of her children, a son and two daughters. The caregivers developed similar respiratory symptoms on or about February 28, 2012. The mother died at home on March 1, 2012. Following her death the three children were hospitalized. Subsequently the 58-year-old son and a 56-year-old daughter died.
As always, we recommend that everyone take routine precautions to prevent the spread of respiratory infections including hand washing and limiting contact with sick individuals. Those with flu-like symptoms, who develop cough, fever or sore throat, should be evaluated by their healthcare provider. Residents who have not received a seasonal flu vaccine are urged to get one from their healthcare provider or by calling Calvert County Health Department at 410-535-5400, ext. 349.
Original story: www.thebaynet.com/news/index.cfm/fa/viewstory/story_ID/26533 |
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"Buy it cheap. Stack it deep" "Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary.
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Albert
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Posted: March 07 2012 at 8:59am |
If it has been identified as "seasonal flu", they better check for a variant. And it could be a severe variant if that's the case. h1n1v or h3n2v.
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Albert
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Posted: March 07 2012 at 9:07am |
Calvert County deaths linked to Influenza A
Three family members in the Lusby area died and another has become ill in a case that authorities believe is contained within the affected family.
The victims were all related and lived in the Rousby Hall Road neighborhood in Lusby. Authorities Tuesday said two of the victims died from Influenza A that was made worse through an underlying infection. Authorities have also confirmed that a third victim who was hospitalized has Influenza A.
The first patient, 83-year-old Ruth Blake, became sick on Feb. 23. Three of her children--a son and two daughters all in their 50s--arrived on Feb. 28 to take care of her.
Blake died on March 1. One daughter, 56, and her son, 58, both died on Monday while a third daughter, 51, remains at Wash Hospital Center in critical condition.
Authorities have not confirmed Blake's cause of death. The deceased siblings both died from Influenza A and the surviving sibling also has Influenza A.
"We have a positive test from the CDC that said the brother and sister who died had Influenza A in their blood," said Dr. Janis Orlowski with Med Star Washington Hospital Center. "We're asking the question, is this a stronger flu. We have no evidence to support it but that's what we're looking for."
Doctors don't know how Ruth Blake died, but they suspect she spread the flu to her children.
“The presumption is the three children caught this from their mother, not at a workplace and we have no knowledge that they were anywhere other than in the home,” says Dr. David Rogers of the Calvert County Health Department. "This is an extremely unusual event."
Donning protective suits, Calvert County Health Department officials took no chances Tuesday as they went into the home to do testing.
Health officials say the cause of the illness has not been confirmed, Environmental testing on the house will be done.
In a statement released Tuesday morning, the department says they "will continue to work with the health care providers and others on this situation and will update Calvert County residents if new information important to their health becomes available.”
Public health officials are fairly confident no one else is in danger from the super infection that ravaged the family.
"It's heart wrenching," said neighbor April Ricker. "I don't understand why God would do something like that to the family."
Comment: Sounds like a super flu bug. If we see another severe cluster in the next few days, then of course we go to plan B. Most likely, and hopefully, it's isolated.
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Albert
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Posted: March 07 2012 at 9:14am |
jacksdad wrote:
Albert wrote:
When Ms Blake's three children went to the hospital, they were coughing up blood... |
That's a little ominous.
Let's hope it doesn't get it's legs, A |
Roger that one Jacksdad. Coughing up blood put's it in a league of severity rivaling that of h5n1. Another severe cluster, and life as we know it could change rather quickly. That's just the reality of it. Damn near judgment day.
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coyote
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Posted: March 07 2012 at 9:25am |
Hi gang..Ya kinda scary..Let's hope that nothing comes out of this...anyway glad that we did a lot more of replenishing our supplies over the weekend! Best dan
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jacksdad
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Posted: March 07 2012 at 12:37pm |
First thing that struck me was that it sounded like a cytokine storm, Albert. Hopefully it's contained because whatever it is, it's clearly already H2H with a 75% CFR if the remaining family member survives.
This is how it starts. Fingers crossed it's not this outbreak.
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"Buy it cheap. Stack it deep" "Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary.
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jdljr1
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Posted: March 07 2012 at 1:53pm |
Many questions, but few answers thus far. We have now learned that it was an H3 flu. But which one, the Perth variety in the vaccine, or an H3N2v vaccine resistant variant? And was it the flu that killled these people, or instead their secondary infection?
Most of all will this stay isolated, or is it beginning to show up further?
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Flu Strain Identified in 2 Calvert County Deaths
Flu strain among those circulating this season
| Wednesday, Mar 7, 2012 | Updated 3:43 PM EST
A health worker leaves the Lusby home of an 81-year-old woman who died from respiratory illness on March 1.
Lab testing identified the same strain of influenza in two of the three victims who died with respiratory sickness last week in Calvert County.
The county's health department has been investigating a cluster of illnesses that led to three deaths in Lusby, MD, near the Calvert Cliffs nuclear facility.
The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Health said on Wednesday afternoon that Influenza H3, a strain of Influenza A that has been circulating this season, was found in two of the cases.
The department said in both cases, bacterial co-infections, a known complication of flu infection, also contributed to the victims' deaths.
An 81-year-old woman was the first to fall sick, in late February. The woman's three adult children, two daughters and a son, traveled to her home to care for her. Subsequently, they became sick as well with similar symptoms. The mother and two of her children died in the first week of March.
On Monday afternoon, a team wearing hazardous material suits from the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene entered the home of the 81-year-old to collect samples. The Maryland Health Department, Maryland Emergency Management, and the Calvert County Health Department say they are continuing a coordinated investigation.
Currently, Maryland public health officials say there are no other clusters of severe respiratory illnesses like this case elsewhere in the state. The flu season is expected to stretch into late May.
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Find this article at: http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/health/Flu-Strain-Identified-in-2-Calvert-County-Deaths-141794243.html |
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John L
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DANNYKELLEY
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Posted: March 07 2012 at 2:18pm |
What are the odds that this is contained to this one family??
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WHAT TO DO????
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jacksdad
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Posted: March 07 2012 at 3:22pm |
5th Calvert family member at hospital
By Lena H. Sun, Wednesday, March 7, 11:00 AM
A fifth member of the Calvert County family stricken by serious lung infections and complications of flu is at MedStar Washington Hospital Center for evaluation, a spokeswoman said Wednesday. Three family members have died in the past week.
The newest person to come under medical attention is the sister of Lou Ruth Blake, 81. Blake died at her home in Lusby on March 1. The sister has a fever but does not appear to have other flulike symptoms, the spokeswoman said.
Blake’s son, 58, and one daughter, 56, died Monday after they were hospitalized with upper respiratory symptoms. They had been taking care of their mother.
A second daughter, 51, who had also been a caregiver, is improving and is likely to be moved out of intensive care some time Wednesday, according to hospital spokeswoman So Young Pak.
Hospital officials said tests confirmed that the siblings who died had a strain of the influenza A virus and each also acquired a serious staph infection before they were hospitalized. The two developed severe bacterial pneumonia, which is not uncommon in people infected with the flu virus. The flu virus weakens and damages the lungs, and infection develops when bacteria invade.
Calvert County health officials said in a statement Wednesday that the cases were isolated to a single family and “there are currently no other affected individuals.” They said local health-care providers are not reporting any significant increase in patients with flulike symptoms.
Calvert County health officials have also been testing inside Blake’s home to determine whether there are additional substances there that could have contributed to the illnesses.
© The Washington Post Company
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"Buy it cheap. Stack it deep" "Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary.
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coyote
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 3:00am |
US: Maryland tests confirm flu, bacterial co-infections in family case cluster
Mar 7, 2012 (CIDRAP News) - Lab tests conducted by the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (MDHMH) have revealed that two patients in a family cluster of four severe respiratory disease cases had the seasonal H3 influenza strain, complicated by bacterial co-infections, the department announced today.
State authorities and their colleagues in Calvert County have been investigating a cluster of severe respiratory illnesses that led to the deaths of an 81-year-old woman from Lusby and two adult children who cared for her after she got sick and until she died on Mar 1. Another of the woman's daughters is hospitalized with similar symptoms.
More lab testing and an investigation into the cases are ongoing, the MDHMH said in a press release. The release did not specify which two patients the flu confirmation pertained to.
The Calvert County Department of Health (CCDH) said in a statement today that initial tests on two of the four family members suggest that the serious respiratory infection suffered by all four is a complication of seasonal flu. It said a fourth family member is still hospitalized at MedStar Washington Hospital Center and is improving.
The elderly woman's 58-year-old son was treated at the same hospital, where he died on Mar 5, and his 51-year-old sister is receiving care, after first being treated at Calvert Memorial Hospital, the Washington Post reported yesterday. Their 56-year-old sister also died on Mar 5.
Janis Orlowski, MD, chief medical officer with MedStar Washington Hospital Center, told the Post yesterday that the siblings who died had influenza A infections, along with serious Staphylococcus (staph) infections that they likely acquired before they were hospitalized, given that they arrived with fever, aches, cough, and shortness of breath.
Health officials so far haven't released any information on what type of staph infection the patients had. Tom Skinner, a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told CIDRAP News that the CDC is expecting to receive some samples to test, and results will be shared with state and local officials first. Continued: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidr...
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carbon20
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 5:53am |
Hi MSRA scary !!!!!!!!!!!!!! ,this is a drug resistant form of staph,my farther in law died of it, a few years ago. MRSA is a strain of the bacterium normally treated with common antibiotics in the penicillin family, such as methicillin. Antibiotic-resistant strains of the organism, however, have been turning up increasingly in places outside health-care settings. “If you get pneumonia with a MRSA staph organism, which we think is what happened here, and if it was transmitted to somebody else, that organism is almost impossible to treat with antibiotics,” he said.
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Albert
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 6:40am |
"The Calvert County Department of Health (CCDH) said in a statement today that initial tests on two of the four family members suggest that the serious respiratory infection suffered by all four is a complication of seasonal flu. "
"Health officials so far haven't released any information on what type of staph infection the patients had."
They have not mentioned MRSA, but a staph infection as a complication to this flu. Now what type of flu can spark a staph infection that kills in less than 5 days? This is a real serious complication to this flu.
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Albert
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 7:08am |
Well since we know it's H3, there are only a few possibilities.
H3N2v, H3N1 or..... we know that the New England seal deaths last December was caused by a highly lethal strain of H3N8. Let's hope it didn't make the leap to humans.
Although, h3n2v is the frontrunner.
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Albert
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 8:12am |
Maryland flu deaths mysterious
Posted: Mar 8, 2012 8:56 AM by Sandra Young (CNN)
(CNN) -- The Calvert County investigation into the flu deaths of 3 family members in Lusby, Maryland, found two of them--a 58 year-old brother and his 56-year-old-sister died of serious lung infections, a complication of seasonal flu.
The CDC already has confirmed the siblings died of influenza A. The strain is still unknown. Their 81-year-old mother, who was being cared for by her three children died at home Thursday of complications from the flu. The surviving sibling, a 51-year-old woman, remains in guarded condition at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., where she is responding to treatment.
Dr. David Rogers, Health Officer of Calvert County, says the investigation into the flu deaths of the three family members in Lusby, Maryland, is continuing. Rogers told CNN while unusual, these were isolated cases and the community at large should not be overly concerned or alarmed.
"This is extremely rare. I think what happened here is that we had an elderly woman who got flu, then she suffered a complication of flu, a severe bacterial pneumonia. Three kids came to provide bedside care and came in close contact. They may not only have caught flu from her but the serious lung infection that she had." Rogers said. "This is a very isolated situation where you have four people in a home, in close contact. This happens not infrequently in elderly people."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 90% of seasonal flu related deaths and more than 60% of flu related hospitalizations in the United States each year are in people 65 or older.
The sister of the deceased 81-year old woman is now also being treated for flu like symptoms at MedStar Washington Hospital Center.
Dr. Janis Orlowski, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, says the woman was admitted last night and is in fair condition.
"We don't yet know what this is about," Orlowski said. "She has a fever and a cough. They were all together at a funeral last week. Individuals could easily have caught the flu--a large gathering of people, hugging, consoling, possibly sharing a meal."
"If the individuals had the flu at that time it is quite likely that others are showing signs of the flu," says Orlowski. 'If I was in that family and felt ill, I would seek medical attention early."
Orlowski also treated the brother, who passed away at the hospital Monday night.
She says the bacterial infection they had was a staphylococcal (staph) infection, which she calls a super infection. Cultures on the surviving sister are not back yet. The source of the staph is still unknown, but Orlowski says the bacteria is naturally on the body. On skin, in the nose. Most people, she says, don't catch it from someone else.
"The question is did the mother have the staph where it went to the hands of the children and they got infected or did each end up becoming super infected with their own bacteria and we don't know the answer to that. It's likely we will never know."
And rare enough that they looked for other sources.
"We did look for poison, carbon monoxide in the house, did they all ingest something?" Orlowski asks. "It's astonishingly rare, such that we are all looking that other explanations."
Orlowski says over the last several days the hospital emergency room filled with nearly 400 patients. Most had chronic illnesses like heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and liver disease made worse by a bout of flu.
"It's flu season in the mid-Atlantic area so I urge the public to get vaccinated if you have not been, wash your hands, and if you are ill, don't go to school or work. We don't want you to spread the illness."
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Albert
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 9:15am |
Not sure i ever mentioned this to you all. Should this flu bug be h3n2v, or should h3n2v ever emerge, we can expect an uptick in traffic. We launched h3n2v.org a few months ago with the purpose of redirecting people here. Since it's the only h3n2v site currently on the net, it's already within the top 3 listings on google and yahoo.
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anon54
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 9:44am |
Wasn't there a bird die off about a month ago in that general area? If memory serves me properly there was a very similar incident in Australia a few years ago, bird die off then several months later a very virulent round of flu went about.
Albert your remarks about seal die off and species jumping has given me the willies.
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jacksdad
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 10:05am |
Still getting a lot of contradictions and conflicting stories. The victim's sister was described as being admitted for a fever but showing no other flu like symptoms, but fever is a defining symptom for flu, and now she has a cough. I guess the next few days will let us know if this is going anywhere, given the incubation period it seemed to show in the mother and siblings. What's the odds of the family not leaving the house to get supplies while they were caring for their mother? If it's still adapting and requires prolonged, close contact then we may be okay. Going to the store and running errands might not be enough for the virus to spread, but with the continued mention of the strain being "seasonal" that might not be the case. It may already be able to spread easily, but mutating to a higher mortality rate. We should get comfy, expect some more twists and turns before the truth outs, and keep our fingers crossed.
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Mahshadin
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 10:11am |
It seems implausible that they can not find out what kind of staff infection it is. It has been almost a week, they should know and yet all that is said in the releases is the doctor calling it a (Super Infection). What the BLANK kind of medical terminolgy is that. At most it would take around 3 days to find out exactly what it is and faster tests are less than 24 hours. Sounds to me like this is being massaged by PR people, total lack of quality information!!!
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Albert
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 10:23am |
Hi Anon! long time no talk. Good to see you.
Mahshadin - I agree. They should also know by now which h3 strain we're dealing with. If it was the regular seasonal h3n2, they could detect it quickly, and they would be fast to mention it. They could the also rule out a mutant swine flu or variant and could search for other factors. Since they're not mentioning regular seasonal h3n2, it leaves little doubt that it's a mutant flu, h3n2v.
h3n2v is my guess, and they're hesitant on mentioning that a mutant flu has emerged.
Jacksdad- good point. Although if it is a new severe flu that hasn't quite gained efficient transmission, it still won't bode well for the future, and knowing that a new deadly flu is here to stay, even via limited transmission. This situation is about to spark A LOT of concern when they announce it.
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issapharma
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 10:25am |
Hi, I'm news here from Paris,
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jacksdad
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 10:30am |
If it is bacterial and not viral, it's a really quick killer and spreads easily. Giving them the benefit of the doubt and assuming no cover up, it could be that what we're seeing is the bacteria going systemic and causing sepsis, which would possibly present as respiratory distress with pink, frothy sputum. That may explain the reports of the siblings coughing blood on arrival at the hospital. Still not sure we should be pinning all the blame on a bacterial infection though, especially as they were confirmed with influenza A.
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"Buy it cheap. Stack it deep" "Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary.
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Albert
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 10:31am |
Welcome to the forum issapharma. That's good information and glad to have you here.
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issapharma
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 10:32am |
Albert wrote:
Welcome to the forum issapharma. That's good information and glad to have you here.
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Thank you
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anon54
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 10:33am |
I just read on another site that the members of the family attended a funeral on March 3 for a nephew. Clearly this may still be an active chain of transmission.Just watch and wait.
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issapharma
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 10:37am |
The family members would have had two opportunities to be exposed. First at the nephew's funeral and then one of the other family members was also buried. The link above is to the funeral home website. http://sewellfuneralhome.com/
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issapharma
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 10:41am |
Growing H3 Maryland Death Cluster Raises Concerns ******** Commentary 12:00 March 8, 2012 "We don't yet know what this is about," Orlowski said. "She has a fever and a cough. They were all together at a funeral last week. Individuals could easily have caught the flu–a large gathering of people, hugging, consoling, possibly sharing a meal."
"If the individuals had the flu at that time it is quite likely that others are showing signs of the flu," says Orlowski. 'If I was in that family and felt ill, I would seek medical attention early."
The above comments strongly suggest that the sister of the index case (81F) for the Calvert County, Maryland cluster is also infected by the H3 confirmed in her sister, nieces, and nephew. This case raises serious concerns about the Calvert County announcement of no new cases or clusters, which appears to be dependent on lab confirmation and thus, is ignoring symptomatic contacts, include the above hospitalized case.
Moreover, the above case has fever in cough, in contrast to media reports claiming that the only symptom upon hospitalization was fever.
Moreover, the funeral cited above is almost certainly the March 3 funeral (in Lusby) for a nephew, who was killed while falling a neighbor’s tree, also in Lusby. Thus, the transmission chain appears to be active, and new cases should be developing symptoms this week.
More information on cases under investigation would be useful, as would detail on the H3 testing (which has been withheld), including full sequences for all eight gene segments.
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issapharma
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 10:43am |
Withheld Maryland Death Cluster Data Raises H3N2v Concerns ******** Commentary 15:00 March 8, 2012 Testing by the DHMH Laboratories Administration has confirmed that two of the cases had Influenza H3, a strain of Influenza A that has been circulating this season.
The above comment from the DHMH press release updating the Calvert County, Maryland death cluster is carefully worded and does not say that the H3 is seasonal H3N2, and may in fact be H3 from H3N2v. The state labs can only do PCR testing, which can produce a pattern (seasonal H3 and H1N1pdm NP positive) that is suggestive of H3N2v, but confirmation requires sequencing (which is done by the CDC). Although there have not been any reported H3N2v cases in 2012, the second case in Indiana, the two cases in Maine, the three cases in Iowa, and the two cases in West Virginia were all from H3N2v circulating this season (and thus H3N2v has an H3 that has been circulating this season).
******** requested (via phone discussions and detailed e-mails sent yesterday morning) a clarification on PCR and/or sequencing result, and neither DHMH nor the CDC has responded at this time.
This failure to respond has increased concerns that the influenza H3 cited above is in fact H3 from H3N2v.
A response to the above written requests, as well as release of sequence data from isolates from the above cluster, would be useful.
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anon54
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 10:46am |
Hi and welcome issapharma,that was the article I read. I'm trying to keep a time line here. It just remains to be seen just how or if this develops.Given the family's position in the community there was probably a large funeral for both the index case and the nephew. I sincerely hope that I am way off base here but the implications are terrifying.
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issapharma
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 10:51am |
Thanks,
( and sorry for my very bad english...)
THIS "H3" is certainly a new MUTATION more virulent of the flu A, but I do not think whether it is in their interest ( CDC ) to inform the public about it.
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issapharma
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 10:59am |
Three days ago, I have find an other strange news in Maryland, 45 miles from calvert county:
HYATTSVILLE, Md. (WUSA) -- On Monday, an emotional memorial service was held for a rising football star who died suddenly after complaining of chest problems this weekend.
Rico Webb was called "the gentle giant." The 6'7," 365 pound offensive lineman stood out as a powerhouse on the field, but was kind and mild-mannered in the hallways of Dematha High School where his classmates remembered him in tears and in laughs.
Classmate Lindell Fulsom said in tears during the memorial service for Webb, "Don't hide your love for somebody 'cause you never know when they'll be gone..."
Teammate Jason Dillon shared a memory that made the crowd laugh: "Sophmore year he got into a fight...it wasn't a massive fight or anything but it was big enough that it got a crowd around and it was pretty funny. This was right before practice. Coach...made him and James walk around for about 45 minutes. They walked around the entire field holding hands."
The high school senior left school Saturday with some flu-like symptoms. Later that night he complained of chest pains and died at the hospital...
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anon54
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 11:01am |
Your English is fine . I tend to agree with you concerning the CDC. It will only be through vigilance by "civilians" such as the participants on this board will people know anything.
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jacksdad
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 11:06am |
I read about the other death - about 40 miles away from the family cluster. No reports showing up on the internet of any new infections or clusters in the area as of this morning. Hopefully whatever it was (bacterial, viral or a combination) dead ended with the Calvert family.
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"Buy it cheap. Stack it deep" "Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary.
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Albert
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 11:15am |
The transmission threat is still relatively high as that surviving family member who is still in the hospital is sheding the virus, which generally lasts for 7 days. Let's hope a nurse or doctor doesn't take the new bug home as she is not quarantined whatsoever. The virus could spread significantly from her if they're not careful.
issapharma - i agree that it probably wouldn't be within their best interest to announce this new mutant flu, but they won't have a choice. There are too many sites such as this one that are following it closely. They won't have a choice.
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issapharma
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 11:18am |
Current vaccine version won't do much for low reactors (drift variants or H3N2v).
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issapharma
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 11:34am |
In 2009, I have made a child size mask ( protection N95 ), dont hesitate to contact me if it turned out badly! ( Kid-mask.com )
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Mahshadin
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 11:38am |
It seems the Viral part of this is intentionally being down-played. Most everything I have read is directing attention toward the bacterial side of the cases being the problem. the last link posted by issapharma had the most in depth information I have seen to date. they should already have confirmation on MRSA, its been almost a week why are they still speculating. I understand the virus need to be sequenced probably by the CDC but even that should be either finished or close to being finshed. WHY ARE WE GETTING SPECULATIONS ???? ____________________________________________________________________________________ Her is a portion of the 2 page article: What's unusual, he said, is that the infection spread from the mother to three children, probably at her bedside. Most likely, the mother's coughing spread the virulent organisms into the air, and her caregivers, two of whom also had the flu, breathed them in and became infected, he said. Rogers said the staph infection was probably one of the most virulent strains, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). MRSA is a strain of the bacterium normally treated with common antibiotics in the penicillin family, such as methicillin. Antibiotic-resistant strains of the organism, however, have been turning up increasingly in places outside health-care settings. "If you get pneumonia with a MRSA staph organism, which we think is what happened here, and if it was transmitted to somebody else, that organism is almost impossible to treat with antibiotics," he said. He said it was important to emphasize that the illnesses were isolated to one family and that family members were in close contact. "It is not a cause for widespread community alarm," he said. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/5th-calvert-family-member-at-hospital/2012/03/07/gIQAYZYFxR_story_1.html
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issapharma
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 11:43am |
Look this comments 2 days ago:
darleen Clark on March 6, 2012 at 9:56 pm "My 33 year old sister died on Tuesday morning in BWMC (old North Arundel) she got sick over the weekend was coughing up blood by Monday and died 4:30 am Tuesday. Hospital said it was pneumonia. but It happened so fast. sounds just like what these people had". http://smnewsnet.com/archives/10857
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carbon20
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Posted: March 08 2012 at 1:47pm |
hi all it was Pensilvania that the kids at the Ag. show first got H3N2 last year Aug/sept
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