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There is a mystery brewing in south Alabama. An illness has hospitalized several people, killing two of them.

It is something that leaves the patient struggling to breathe.

The Alabama Department of Public Health is putting everyone on notice about a mystery illness.  Epidemiologists are conferring with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about a cluster of respiratory illnesses. 

The origin of the illness is unknown, but it is striking people in the Houston County area.  So far, seven people have been hospitalized with fever, cough, and shortness of breath.   Two of those patients have died.  

Lab specimens have been collected and are being studied.   For now, both the Public Health Department and the CDC are recommending hospitals use respiratory protocol when dealing someone with such an illness, meaning masks and gloves.  

The real question I have is :  Even though I am well now, and had received the H1N1 vaccination a year ago.

Latest: Two Dead, Five Sick From Unknown Illness

By: Ken Curtis

Updated: May 21, 2013

 

Two people have died and five others are hospitalized after suffering an undetermined illness.  "We're investigating an increase in respiratory type symptoms," said Peggy Blakeney, Area Administrator for the Alabama Department of Public Health.  "An investigation is ongoing and there are many unknowns at this time."

The two people who died were in their 30's and 40's.  Other information, including sex of the victims, was not disclosed though Dothan First has confirmed one was an Enterprise man in his 30's.  Those hospitalized with the mysterious illness are of varying ages ranging from young adults to an elderly person.  All reside in southeast Alabama and died in local hospitals.  There are no other known cases in the state.

 It is believed the first person affected became sick on or about April 19.  However, Blakeney said the Department of Public Health was not notified until last week.  

"We're asking medical workers in contact with these cases to wear masks," said Blakeney.  "We're also requesting people suffering from cough, fever, and breathing difficulty to consult a physician or other medical provider."  At this point, a person should suffer all three before being overly concerned they could be infected with the unknown virus.

"This is not an epidemic," stressed Lisa Smith, Emergency Preparedness Investigator with ADPH.  "It appears not to be highly contagious." Family members of those affected are not suffering the same symptoms.  She also said travel doesn't seem to be a contributing factor.

"We wish we had a common denominator," Blakeney said.  "We will just have to wait on lab results."  Those are expected in the next few days. 

The illness is not believed related to an avian flu outbreak that has killed 131 people in China. Smith wouldn't speculate whether the Alabama cases could be the H1N1 virus, commonly called swine flu.

Anyone with questions or concerns is urged to contact their medical provider or nearest health department.

Latest: Two Dead, Five Sick From Unknown Illness

 

If you have a cough, fever, or shortness of breath, it may be time to see a doctor. A mysterious respiratory illness has killed two people and infected at least five others in Southeast Alabama. Some patients are currently in serious condition in the ICU.

"We know that it's been very rapid and onset, meaning people have gotten sick with fevers coughing congestion, and within a day or two they've been on a respirator or a ventilator," said Pulmonologist Dr. Adrian DiVittorio. A doctor of pulmonology specializes in diseases of the lungs and respiratory tract.

Dr. DiVittorio says this flu-like illness is concerning, but doesn't appear to be highly contagious.

"Most respiratory illnesses are spread via droplets, meaning you have to cough on someone."

Until health officials figure out what's going on, they're asking staff at the local hospitals to wear masks when dealing with patients who have similar symptoms.

And to make things even more strange, doctors at the Alabama Department of Public Health say other than being from a cluster of counties in Southeast Alabama, they have so far been unable to find a common denominator to link the patients infected.

"We've done questionnaires to see, were they in the same restaurant, did they go to the same hotel, other things in the community," said Dr. Mary McIntyre. "They're from different towns that really appear to have no link."

The illness is striking people of all ages. The current victims range from age 20 to 80.

Sources say two of the infected people tested positive for viruses including the H1N1 flu virus.

The CDC should release test results Thursday.

ADPH: Illness isn’t avian flu

Many people are breathing more easily after the Alabama Department of Public Health announced Thursday it has determined that the cause of a respiratory illness cluster in southeast Alabama was a combination of influenza A, rhinovirus, the virus associated with the common cold, and bacterial pneumonia.

At least seven people had been hospitalized and two, including a Luverne native, had died from the illness many feared was a form of bird flu.

At Andalusia Regional Hospital, officials said Thursday they have had a few cases with patients presenting the same symptoms.

“We have seen a few cases present to our emergency room with all three symptoms – fever greater than 100.4, coughing and shortness of breath,” said Bobby Meyer, ARH infection control director. “We are actively screening those patients based on the guidelines received from the Alabama Department of Public Health and the CDC. The specimens that we collect are being sent directly to the (ADPH) clinical laboratory.”

Public health officials began an epidemiological investigation to interview the families of the patients about travel and exposure.

Specimens were requested and submitted to ADPH’s clinical laboratory.

Of the seven patients whose specimens were submitted, six were found to be positive for either influenza A, rhinovirus or a combination of the two and three patients were found to have bacterial pneumonia.

“This is good news,” State Health Officer Dr. Don Williamson said. “Testing has ruled out avian flu and novel coronavirus.”

Meyer encouraged anyone with symptoms to seek medical attention.

“If you or your family members have respiratory symptoms of fever, cough and shortness of breath, please contact your health care provider to be evaluated,” she said.

State health officials said Thursday “while enhanced surveillance associated with this cluster is no longer necessary, health care providers are encouraged to continue routine year-round influenza surveillance activities and submit specimens to the state laboratory for testing.”

It is also recommended that if you or your family members have respiratory systems you should take the following steps to prevent transmission of disease:

• Cover your cough or sneeze with a sleeve or tissue;

• Wash your hands often with soap and water; especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are also effective;

• Avoid touching your mouth, eyes and nose with your hands. Try to avoid close contact with sick people;

• If you get sick, stay home and limit contact with others to avoid infecting them.

 http://www.andalusiastarnews.com/2013/05/23/adph-illness-isnt-avian-flu/

The number of mystery illness cases affecting Alabama is growing. Wednesday, Alabama Department of Public Health spokeswoman Dr. Mary McIntyre confirmed the number rose to ten overnight from a previous report of seven. Two people have died.

"Since we sent out the alert to providers last night, we have had three additional patients/cases," Dr. McIntyre told WSFA 12 News. "These patients all have the same symptoms of cough, shortness of breath and "something" on their chest x-rays," she explained.

Dr. McIntyre says it wasn't immediately known if all the new cases were in southeast Alabama, like the previous seven. But she said at least one person was admitted to Southeast Alabama Medical Center in the last 24 hours.

"We have staff right now in the field trying to get additional information about the other two patients," McIntyre said. No additional information on the three new cases is immediately available.

No additional deaths have been reported beyond the two known deaths. "We are praying we get the preliminary results from the CDC tomorrow (Thursday)," McIntyre said. "They did not come in today."

The mysterious sickness has, so far, been focused on southeast Alabama within an eight-county region. ADPH has been general in its statement about the locations of those affected, but a news conference covered by the Dothan Eagle on Tuesday cited an official who said the first seven patients came from the area including Barbour, Coffee, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston and Pike counties.

Doctors are stumped for answers as to what's causing the respiratory illness.

State health department officials say of the initial seven patients, two died, two have been released and three remain hospitalized.

McIntyre said of the initial seven patients that each suffered from fever, cough and shortness of breath and that all of the severe illnesses were accompanied by pneumonia. There may have been more than one contributing factor.

"We are running a multiple panel test that actually looks for viruses and bacteria so we can try to make sure we're not dealing with anything unusual," McIntyre said.

Dr. McIntyre says the two people who died had different, but relatively common, forms of influenza.

Public health officials say they really don't know what they are dealing with and they have no idea if it has spread to other areas. That's why they are in constant contact with the Centers for Disease control, hoping the CDC can figure it out. The CCDC and ADPH are currently investigating the string of illnesses.

Samples have been taken from the patients and will be examined at the ADPH Bureau of Clinical Laboratories and the CDC Respiratory Laboratory. 

The state health department says they are trying to find connections to the patients. So far, they have gathered that they are all adults ranging in age from early 20s to late 80s and they were all admitted into the Southeast Alabama Medical Center starting last Thursday.

Officials say one patient tested positive for the H1-NI flu virus and another person tested positive for Type A Flu. Right now health officials are treating the mystery illness like the flu.

So far none of the initial seven affected by the mystery illness appear to be connected to each other and there's no indication that any had recently traveled outside the country.

Health officials don't won't people to panic because again there are lot of unknowns, so health officials really don't know if this is actual outbreak yet. They are asking that providers report any symptoms or unusual complications from their patients.

State health officials sent out alerts to providers Wednesday with more information on the steps to take to report information about this mystery illness.

The ADPH and CDC are recommending that hospitals take respiratory precautions, such as breathing masks, when treating patients with respiratory symptoms. 

"Be sure to cover your cough, wash your hands frequently, don't cough on your hands and then shake somebody else's hands, to try to prevent from spreading stuff," Dr. McIntyre said.

If you or your family members have symptoms of fever, cough, and shortness of breath the CDC has asked that you contact your health care provider.