This is in IOWA - I know it is not flu per se, but hasn't there been something suspect going on there for a while? I am afraid this is the type of news report we will start to see all the time if/when this hits. This is the type of event that could easily spark a serious spread of H5N1.

AND they say 30 people are sick - yet they had to set up a recreation center site to keep the hospitals from being "overwhelmed"! Overwhelmed with only 30 people!?! Wow.

________________________________________________________

Mystery Illness Hits Special Olympics

By JAMES BELTRAN, Associated Press Writer

< =text/>document.write(getElapsed("20060708T022349Z")); Fri Jul 7, 10:23 PMUPDATED 57 MINUTES AGO

DES MOINES, Iowa - At least 30 people were treated for vomiting and diarrhea as the Special Olympics national games ended Friday, and health officials warned authorities in other states that the illness could spread as people return home.

An estimated 30,000 people attended the six-day event in Ames.

"Some people have already left," said Mary Mincer Hansen, director for the Iowa Department of Public Health.

She said state health officials have contacted other health departments across the country and are still unsure why coaches, fans and athletes are feeling sick.

At least 10 have been hospitalized, and the health department has set up an area for others at an Iowa State University recreation center. Hansen said it was a precaution to keep hospitals from getting overwhelmed.

The health department questioned those affected and called in food inspectors to investigate possible causes. Tests have been taken and results are expected Saturday, Hansen said.

The first sicknesses occurred Friday morning but the health department was not informed until after noon, she said.

"With that large a crowd, people thought there would be some people getting sick," Hansen said. But when more athletes, coaches and fans kept getting the same symptoms, health officials took action, she said.

Special Olympics officials would not comment Friday night.

WorriedinMD. I think this is a bug going around. My son had this with high fever. I just had it, my mom, my husband, lots of other people around here in Ohio.

Hmm, it seems unlikely to me that it would be food borne, what are the odds the fans and the athletes ate the same food? I guess it's possible, but...  I doubt it's H5 at least based upon the report, probably just another stomach virus going around.

again, a likely pathogen is Norovirus. 

My office is in Iowa and I had several several several cancellations  due to illness in the past two weeks.  The ones who have recovered described the symptoms listed above along with wanting to sleep excessively.

Initial Ames Outbreak Samples Test Positive for Norovirus

The state public health laboratory confirms initial samples obtained in Ames from ill individuals have tested positive for norovirus. Norovirus is a common cause of viral gastroenteritis ("stomach flu") and outbreaks are normally associated with food and water.

HOMEWARD, Story County's public health department, and the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) continue to investigate this outbreak. At this time, the outbreak source has not been identified. It will be difficult to know how many people were sick as some did not likely seek medical care.

People with norovirus infection may feel very sick for several days and the illness is seldom serious. Symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and cramps may appear 12-48 hours after exposure. Individuals can pass the virus to others while sick and up to 48 hours after diarrhea has stopped.

"Norovirus can be spread from person to person, especially among family members, that's why it's important for those experiencing symptoms to contact their health care provider," said IDPH Director Mary Mincer Hansen. "The main risk is dehydration so it's important to drink plenty of fluids."

Health officials advise anyone with nausea or diarrhea to:

• Wash hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and especially after using the bathroom, after coughing and sneezing, and before preparing and eating food.
• Use a bleach solution (1/4 cup bleach per gallon of water) to clean contaminated surfaces, such as doorknobs, shared tables or countertops.
• Cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze because the norovirus can also be transmitted in the air.
• Cook foods well and wash fruits and vegetables before eating them since transmission can also occur through eating contaminated foods.

To help prevent the spread of these viruses anyone who is ill with diarrhea, vomiting or fever should not work with food, the elderly, in healthcare or child care. Food recently prepared by this person should be discarded.

``In a number of patients the only exposure risk has been drinking raw duck blood,''

Well, that's it, no more Raw Duck Blood for ME!

Samoa -

Samoa,

Every time I've heard about a norovirus, it's been on a ship or boat. Is there something about water that helps this virus? Has anyone here ever heard of people being quarantined for diarrhea and vomiting? Stomach virus's go around all the time, I've NEVER heard of anyone being quarantined for something like that. I think there must be more to this story. Has anyone else ever heard of people being quarantined for something like what this is purported to be?

From the Des Moines Register - further details in this article.

      Dozens fall ill at Special Olympics


Outbreak of nausea and vomiting puzzles health officials

TONY LEYS, REID FORGRAVE and LISA ROSSI
REGISTER STAFF WRITERS


July 8, 2006



Ames, Ia. — Public health officials scrambled Friday to figure out what sickened dozens of athletes, coaches and spectators at the Special Olympics games in Ames.

Patients came down with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. About 10 were hospitalized.

The first cases cropped up Tuesday, but the problem accelerated Friday, said Nicole Peckumn, an Iowa Department of Public Health spokeswoman.

Peckumn declined to speculate on whether food poisoning might have been the cause. "It could potentially be multiple other things," she said. The health department hoped test results would point to a suspect by this morning.

Complete article at following link.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060708/NEWS/607080363&SearchID=73250173372852


    

Samoa wrote: Well, that's it, no more Raw Duck Blood for ME!

rodin33 wrote: Every time I've heard about a norovirus, it's been on a ship or boat. Is there something about water that helps this virus? Has anyone here ever heard of people being quarantined for diarrhea and vomiting? Stomach virus's go around all the time, I've NEVER heard of anyone being quarantined for something like that. I think there must be more to this story. Has anyone else ever heard of people being quarantined for something like what this is purported to be?

Once again, I speak to doctors in Vietnam, since I have a friend who goes there almost every month and even married a Vietnamese woman. I may have posted a "personal" note from the doctor taking care of an Avian patient as well as other doctors who have verified this in rectal swabs and that it has spread in humans from the lungs to the intestine and other organs. The next step which has occured is patients presenting with almost no lung symptoms, sometimes the lungs are even clear, and intestinal loose stools and emesis (vomiting) and nausea.

There was a comment made on another thread about a group of birds an expert just "looked at" and thought were fine.  Birds carry Avian in the intestine. Despite the fact that it has been alleged it cannot be acquired by eating contaminated fowl, this most certain was the source of the cluster in Indonesia with the 87.5% mortality rate and somehow got past the stomach acid, which is supposed to kill the virus, and in this case did not.

Then there was human to human to transmission and genetic alteration of the virus. This is a restatement, accurate I hope, of information I have been monitoring here and throughout the world since March. I have been involved in the medical community for many years, but was referred to this forum, and then began to track the virus as well as research the true history of its origin.

Point for this posting is that our entire family has something. Four members, living in different locations have been hospitalized, including myself a year ago, and we don't live all in the same place. We have no contact with birds, but both my wife and myself cannot eat eggs anymore because they make us both ill.

We continue to joke about the fact, it is pretty far fetched to think that perhaps Avian has mutated into a less virulent intestinal form and is spreading across the country while hospitals refuse to test people or birds so there will be no cases to report.

I am not interested in conspiracies or coverups, or placing blame anywhere. I have personally met with health department officials, and of course other doctors and lab people than simply reading what is posted on line.

We have hit a stone wall as far as testing goes. My wife is pregnant and even in the series of tests run for her, they did not, or would not test for some type of intestinal virus she is carrying. She stayed with me a year before last March in the isolation room, where they confirmed, I believe what was an H5 infection.

I ran a high fever, had blood in the lungs, and almost died. She had it pretty bad and what is enigmatic is although my lungs are clear now, something persists and will not go away.

One physician I handed a series of tests that should be run, a viral panel to rule out the most common viruses our family may have. For this, the doctor notified the hospital that he no longer wished to be my physician - without cause. The admin was shocked because this was a very rare occurence, but being a mediclincian, and originally schooled on the West Coast at for one, Stanford University, I remained professional but unable to, and still am, to get tests run for norovirus or E-Coli - the pathogenic strain.

So after all these posts, and all this data, I have come to the humble opinion, we have more than 20 strains of Avians at a bare minimum. A virologist I spoke to indicated that in our geographical area, there may over a thousand strains of viruses, which coming from the West Coast I had no resistance to. A relative, who worked in a pre-school for two years finally quit, because in her words "she was constantly catching something every week." When she quit, witihin a month her health returned. They called an begged her to return, but she refused, stating, it just was not worth to be ill all the time.

In conclusion, for one, those of us who may be infected, certainly cannot see the value of being herded like cattle into some converted facility to die and possibly be re-infected with even worse strains. According to my primary and my wives primary we are neither carriers or sick, despite daily cramping, and intolerance of most foods.

Several years ago we were healthy people. We had no health problems and for years did not even catch colds or flu during two flu seasons.  Now, in my work, having relocated into the heart of a new area, and surrounded many times at the hospital or in ER by sick patients, with no masks until we determine they may possibly have pertussis, TB, or are showing symptom of "bleeding" pneumonia, little or no isolation techniques are taken.

This is reminiscent of when I had AIDS patients and their HIV positive staff was hidden in the back of charts and they were placed in wards with 5 other patients. There was no isolation, no room for them to have as special room, and once upon reporting the situation, a weak effort was made with a few patients causing an uproar among the other famlies who had relatives in the same ward.

Treating a viral patient, and epidemics of virus diseases (which probably cause the majority of human illness) has become a nemesis to hospitals.
They will not test for them most of the time because the tests are expensive and people on Medicaid are often rushed through.

One relative of mine had a gall bladder (done in response to this chronic intestinal problem). Bowels have been resectioned, stomachs removed and stapled, multi-operations performed on famility members, volumes of Zantac, Immodium, Metamucil, Motrin, and Aspirin have been perscribed. No tests have been to find the real cause.

Perhaps our current medical system does not have any defense against a huge mutating mass of viral diseases. Perhaps due to budget considerations and massive escalating health costs and insurance companies people are being herded through like cattle.

Conclusion : Let us consider that Avian has mutated and gone intestinal, at least in some cases. It certainly is spread in bird feces. If so, our safety net for identifying cases is non-existent. A lower virulent form could easily spread though Iowa, Ohio, and even have reached where we live and there would not be a single case filed.

I know I am not alone in this. I have no doubt there are a million others being told religiously that "stomach flu" is a misnomer. We all know "flu" is pulmonary. I have researched history concerning such things. Do you know the Civil War and many great battles were lost not because of poor planning, but because of troops with waves of dysentery.

What caused the jump? What would be the impact of a Pandemic of miserable chronic bowel problems on economy, the work force, etc?

Would it be secretly more insidious than any 911 attack? Notice where supplies of Tamiflu are being shipped and at the same time results are not being reported from testing.

One could change the topic to - How many sick in the U.S.?

If suspected cases of bird flu are found at other screening labs across the country, the future for Crocheck’s charges is grim.

The four fowl — and hundreds like them — are key players in a complex testing process at the National Veterinary Services Laboratories that will determine whether the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu virus has arrived in the United States.

“Lab diagnosis is definitely the centerpiece of the whole avian influenza response,” said Larry Granger, in charge of emergency management for the USDA.

The lab is the nation’s only internationally recognized bird flu testing program. Researchers test for bird flu, BSE (mad-cow disease) and many other animal diseases on the 640-acre campus near Iowa State University.

Known as the H5N1 strain of bird influenza, the virus spread from Asia, where it’s blamed for the slaughter of 200 million birds. The virus has killed at least 124 people. No one knows whether the virus will reach the United States or develop into a deadly strain that can be transmitted easily by humans.

To help determine when and where it arrives, the government has begun a massive testing program. The first phase started in Alaska, where thousands of migratory birds will be captured and swabbed. Birds are considered natural reservoirs for bird flu and can harbor flu viruses.

Samples will be shipped to a network of laboratories for screening. If a sample contains the H5 virus, it’s shipped to Ames, where tests are run to determine if the bird carries H5N1.

First, virus from the sample is injected in bird eggs, which are tested five days later to determine whether it is one of 144 strains of bird flu or whether it is another disease such as Exotic Newcastle, which is harmless to humans but deadly to poultry.

If it contains bird flu, the sample is tested to determine whether it is H5N1. Only those with positive H5N1 go to the lab.

Eight of these birds, specially bred and disease-free, are injected with virus from the suspect sample. Perhaps within hours, certainly in two days, the birds will begin to show side effects.

Although the test results will be announced publicly, likely by officials in Washington, Granger said this will not be a signal of a threat to humans.

“If we find this virus in the wild bird population, it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a human health risk,” Granger said. “Likewise, it doesn’t mean there is a risk to commercial poultry.”

So far, the virus has mostly affected birds. Those who have died from the virus had close contact with infected birds. However, scientists cautioned the virus could mutate into a form that spreads easily among people and could spark an epidemic.

``Finding it in a migratory bird is an early warning system,’’ Ron DeHaven, head of the Agriculture Department’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said in a recent interview.

``So it would be cause for us to put out an alert, do some additional surveillance testing and do some education and outreach, in terms of practicing good biosecurity,’’ DeHaven said.

http://www.iowafarmer.com/articles/2006/07/10/livestock/50birdflu_ap.txt

JoeNeubarth wrote: Have them test for antibodies to H5N1 and H5N2.  That is, if they have the capability.

Sounds like a plan Joe. I think we have exchanged post before on here and my concern is an attempt by Avian to become symbiotic in humans. It would be so difficult to mobilize the health establishment against something with a high tramsmission rate but low mortality rate.

Still waiting on those thousands of Alaskan samples.