Online H1N1 “swine” flu resources from Public Health – Seattle & King County

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1. Online H1N1 “swine” flu resources from Public Health – Seattle … | swine-flu-influenza-virus says:

   October 1, 2009 at 9:15 pm

   [...] the original post here: Online H1N1 “swine” flu resources from Public Health – Seattle … Share and [...]
2. Health stories in the news | Seattle/LocalHealthGuide says:

   October 6, 2009 at 10:45 am

   [...] Find a list of local resources here. [...]
3. Health stories in the news | Seattle/LocalHealthGuide says:

   October 7, 2009 at 9:51 am

   [...] Go to our page listing local online swine flu resources. [...]
4. Swine Flu Safety says:

   October 12, 2009 at 1:29 am

   A complete list of resources might also reference the 1976 swine flu outbreak, the official response, and the results of that response.
   • LocalHealthGuide says:

     October 12, 2009 at 9:42 am

     Science reporter Patrick di Justo wrote an interesting account of the1976 swine flu fiasco that appeared in Salon.com in April.

     He writes that scientists were initially very concerned that we were dealing with a virus similar to the one that caused the great 1918 Pandemic, which killed millions worldwide.

     After studying the virus for a while, they became less concerned, but by then politicians were competing to show they were leading on this issue and then Legionnaires disease struck, which was conflated with the flu in the press.

     Di Justo writes:

     The scientists began to come to their senses. By July, they were pretty much agreed that a flu pandemic in 1976 would not lead to 1 million U.S. dead. The flu strain extracted from Private Lewis, they learned, was much less virulent that the 1918 strain, and modern medicine could handle an outbreak far better than the World War I doctors could. The World Health Organization ordered hospitals to keep a global lookout for swine flu, but it did not request mass immunization of the population.

     But the U.S. government was unstoppable. Congress began to pressure the drug companies to work faster toward development of a swine flu vaccine. The drug companies insisted that proper vaccine development required years of experimentation and clinical trials, and they were reluctant to develop and distribute an untested drug. The drug companies suggested that they could work faster if they were given immunity from lawsuits in the event something went wrong with the vaccine. Congress refused. The issue of legal liability remained at an impasse until Aug. 2, 1976.

     On that day, two members of the American Legion died of a strange respiratory disease they acquired at the Legion’s convention in Philadelphia. Congress collectively freaked . . . .

     That said this new virus is already showing that it is quite a bit more dangerous than the 1976 virus, which killed only one person.

     According to the CDC, during the week of Sept. 27 through Oct. 3, 19 children died due to complications of the flu, a number that experts find alarmingly high so early in an epidemic, and from the beginning of August through to October 100 pregnant women, who in general are more susceptible to flu complications, have required intensive care, 28 of whom died. Again, a high number when compared to patterns seen with seasonal flu outbreaks.

     So it appears, compared to the swine flu of 1976, this year’s swine flu is a “different kind of animal.”

     Michael McCarthy
     • Meena Ramaswamy says:

       October 27, 2009 at 4:54 pm

       http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/21/cbsnews_investigates/main5404829.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody

       Is there any truth to this article by CBS news? It is already troubling that there seems to be so much misinformation being propogated by anti-vaccine people, but even more troubling, there seems to be a lack of debate within the scientific community in the United States. The latest “The Atlantic” Nov. 2009 issue carried a wonderful article questioning the integrity of the scientific community with regards to both the seasonal flu vaccine and the h1n1.
       If you read Japanese newspapers..

       http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20091025a7.html

       how can it be that only they seem to be reporting some adverse effects, with almost no adverse effect reports in the USA? It is even more worrisome that people with food allergies were implicated in these adverse effects.

       Surely, the CDC cannot be so high handed as to presume the public incapable of making intelligent judgements given truthful data however confusing. After all any pandemic must be dealt with along with the public. Simply propogating panic and confusion among lay people and doctors is in itself an error of judgement.

       I am merely a stay at home mom, but given these conflicting reports(not from web sites without merit), how can I justify risking the flu vaccine for my children one of whom would if I follow the CDC guidelines have to take thimerosol 4 times with 2 doses of h1n1 and 2 doses of the seasonal flu.

       What has happened to the Canadian problem being reviewed by a select panel of epidemiologists?
       http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/science/study-prompts-provinces-to-rethink-flu-plan/article1303330/

       My apologies for asking a lot of questions,but perhaps if more ordinary people start asking questions, someone, somewhere will at least attempt to address them.
       • LocalHealthGuide says:

         October 27, 2009 at 5:00 pm

         Dear Meena,

         Thank you for your note. We will look into those reports and try to sort out what’s going on. Thanks for calling our attention to these reports.

         Best,
         Michael McCarthy
         Editor
5. Miliani says:

   October 13, 2009 at 11:33 pm

   Fellow employees stayed home this week with children who supposedly had swine flu. How long until those employees should come back to work without exposing us to this virus? Does anybody know? Trying my best to avoid getting the flu this year, but with these employees who have kids, its going to be a challenge since somebody’s kid is always sick with something. We were such a healthy office before employees started having babies!!
   • admin says:

     October 15, 2009 at 10:05 am

     One of the reasons health officials have been urging people to get the vaccine for seasonal and the vaccine for the new H1N1 “swine” flu and to take other steps to prevent the spread of the virus is the concern that should the epidemic be widespread it could cause major disruptions of both schools and workplaces.

     For general information about the flu, including how businesses should prepare go to http://www.flu.gov. The site has a wealth of material and links to many resources.

     The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a guidance on how long people should stay home after they’ve contracted the flu:

     CDC Recommendations for the Amount of Time Persons with Influenza-Like Illness Should be Away from Others

     Hope this helps.

     Michael McCarthy
     Editor
6. King County suspends H1N1 "swine" flu vaccination clinics until more vaccine arrives | Seattle/LocalHealthGuide says:

   October 23, 2009 at 9:24 pm

   [...] additional links see LocalHealthGuide’s H1N1 flu information [...]
7. theReferee says:

   October 25, 2009 at 7:06 pm

   Please, NO MORE HUGS!

   Be responsible — JUST SAY NO TO HUGGING!

   It creeps me out that so many people are still hugging.
   • LocalHealthGuide says:

     October 25, 2009 at 8:55 pm

     Sarah Kershaw had an article about the hugging phenomenon among teens in the New York Times.
     Sarah Kershaw recently had an article about the hugging phenomenon among U.S. teens.

     She writes:

     But Amy L. Best, a sociologist at George Mason University, said the teenage embrace is more a reflection of the overall evolution of the American greeting, which has become less formal since the 1970s. “Without question, the boundaries of touch have changed in American culture,” she said. “We display bodies more readily, there are fewer rules governing body touch and a lot more permissible access to other people’s bodies.

     For more read Kershaw’s article For Teenagers, Hello Means ‘How About a Hug?’

     Michael McCarthy
     Editor