News Reports for May 22, 2012

US: Pearl City Urgent Care sees increase in flu cases (Hawaii)

(Snip) Dr. Melanie Kelly, Board Certified, Internal Emergency Medicine, is Medical Director of Pearl City Urgent Care. She has been an Emergency Medicine Physician in Hawaii for over 25 years. "We have had an upsurge in patients who have tested positive for influenza over the past two weeks indicating a late flu season on Oahu. A number have required IVs, or x-rays for pneumonia."
Dr. Kelly adds, (Snip) The flu season typically starts in December and peaks in February. http://www.khon2.com/news/loca...

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Tue May 22, 2012 at 06:21:09 AM UTC

Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez at Rest for Flu

Buenos Aires, May 21.- Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez, had to suspend all activities scheduled for today due to flu symptoms (Snip) Fernandez has presented a flu-like and congestion in the upper respiratory tract.

(Snip) she was prescribed symptomatic treatment, suspension of activities, rest for 48 hours and a new medical check. http://www.cadenagramonte.cu/e...

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Tue May 22, 2012 at 06:29:54 AM UTC

US: Our times - New Orleans ravaged by flu epidemic in 1918

Published: Monday, May 21, 2012 - New Orleans was an epicenter of death for 12 horrible weeks in the fall of 1918, as the Spanish Influenza spread throughout the globe. As many as 50 million people are estimated to have died from the world's deadliest pandemic.

After being spared in an early spring round that ravaged military camps in the United States and in the trenches of Europe, New Orleans got its first reported case in October 1918.

For months, local health officials had reassured people that the flu would not strike here. But on Oct. 1, a small story in The Picayune told of an outbreak at a military encampment on the grounds of Tulane University. Feeble attempts at quarantine failed.

Within days, schools were closed, theaters and concerts cancelled and businesses went on staggered schedules to avoid over-crowding on streetcars. These measures, and some early attempts at vaccines, failed and the city had one of the highest death rates in the country. About 4,000 people died of flu and related pneumonia, many of them young and healthy.

While bacterial infections were generally understood in 1918, viruses were not. Most attempts at vaccines failed and people took up home remedies.  Continued: http://www.nola.com/175years/i...

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Tue May 22, 2012 at 06:40:27 AM UTC

"..some military bases had 10 percent death rates."

That's staggering!

"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."  Flannery O'Connor

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by: Jane @ Tue May 22, 2012 at 22:52:47 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Comment

I have been posting on Fluwiki since January 2007 and I don't ever remember the flu news being this quiet. Neither of my two searches today have turned up anything worth posting. I just keep thinking of the words, "the quiet before the storm"......

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Tue May 22, 2012 at 20:29:16 PM UTC

It IS awfully quiet...

but on May 22, 2011 there were only 3 stories posted as well.

By contrast, there were:
- 6 stories on May 22, 2010
- 30 stories on May 22, 2009 (at the beginning of the H1N1 pandemic)
- 11 stories on May 22, 2008, and
- 11 stories on May 22, 2007.

(And you know it's slow when I have time to look up this bit of trivia.)

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by: AlohaOR @ Wed May 23, 2012 at 04:44:44 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

It is the end of the flu season

for us and other countries. But as AlohaOR pointed out (and thank you for that, it was an interesting bit of FW triva), the H1N1 pandemic hit in May so we can't let our guard down.  

United we stand: Divided we fall
www.flunewsnetwork.com

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by: cottontop @ Thu May 24, 2012 at 09:48:16 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Please post new news stories to...

News Reports for May 23, 2012

Thank you!

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by: AlohaOR @ Wed May 23, 2012 at 04:35:21 AM UTC