<p>I’ve been tracking the HINI closely and since I work at a hospital have been privy to some information being given to hospitals to prepare for an outbreak.</p>
<p>It is very rare to see flu cases during the summer. However, we have seen tens of thousands of cases in the US this summer. This is a major cause of concern.</p>
<p>Secondly, although people die from the flu during a regular flu season, not that many get the flu because most of us have some level of immunity to the normal flu. Not so with the HINI flu. Although, it appears this flu is not more deadly than the regular flu, it becomes mostly a numbers game. While it’s true that about 36,000 people die from the flu each year, this is a very insignificant # of deaths compared to number of people who will die if 100 million people (1/3 of the US population) get H1N1. </p>
<p>As for Tamiflu, there is beginning to be evidence that HINI is becoming resistant to it, so it might be a moot point. While Tamiflu may help shorten symptoms, it is not a cure and it’s not 100% effective. It doesn’t work for everyone. It tends to be hit or miss and it is not clear whether it can prevent complications in children with asthma. Although, if I had a family member at high risk I would certainly err on the side of caution and use it.</p>
<p>The UK handled the Tamiflu distribution well recently. They purchased enough for a significant portion of their citizens and all people had to do was call a phone #, answer questions about their symptoms and then pick up a rx at their local pharmacy. No need to see a MD. I guess it’s a lot easier do that when you have a national health policy rather than a patchwork of insurance companies and providers.</p>
<p>Anyway, hospitals are taking this very, very seriously and are preparing for the worse. Of course, we all hope for the best. I would rather see us ‘overreact’ than be unprepared. The gov’t is in a catch-22 situation. If they prepared and nothing happens it’s all ‘hype’. If they don’t prepare, then you run the risk of being criticized. Remember Hurricane Katrina.</p>
<p>IMHO, it’s the governments job to be prepared and alert the population to the potential risks.</p>
<p>I wondered that, too. Just for the record, we live right outside of NYC, my H could have written our family a prescription to put on hand, and he didn’t. Supplies of no medicine are unlimited. He didn’t believe in stockpiling. And he was also always astounded how many physicians over-prescribed anti-biotics and anti-virals, leading to the creation of resistant strains, thus threatening everyone.</p>
<p>So, not everyone does, just because they can.</p>
<p>School just started here in TX, and they informed us that some of the athletes that were practicing early had it, and then we received phone calls that kids were sick already this week. There are going to be a lot of kids ill with this, I am afraid. It never went completely away, and when it let up here when it got hot, the southern hemisphere got it, and with people travelling, well…</p>
<p>The University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, started a “flu bus” to transport sick students from residence halls to health services. With a large campus, the university wants to avoid infections spreading on public transportation, said Robert Winfield, Michigan’s chief health officer and director of the university health service. </p>
<p>The University of Arizona in Tucson is planning a drive- through clinic for flu shots later in September, spokesman Johnny Cruz said. The campus has seen 25 cases in the few weeks since students returned. </p>
<p>“You can just pull up, get your shot and keep going,” he said in a telephone interview. “This is a way to do it faster and to limit interactions among people that might be ill.”</p>
<p>Our 14-year old son had it all last week, got over it this weekend and is back in school today. It’s not been a lot of fun for him, but from watching his case, it’s somewhat comforting for me to see that its impact has simply been that of the regular seasonal flu - headache, fever, chills, coughing, etc. Three days after the onset of symptoms, he felt much better. Though this flu strain spreads very easily and rapidly, it appears to be less dramatic than what had first been projected as a possibility last spring and I’m thankful for that.</p>
<p>If the flu is showing signs of being resistant to Tamiflu, then how can it be a good thing that it is being handed out without a diagnosis in England? Won’t taking it at the first sign of a sniffle hasten resistance?</p>
<p>D’s school had a handful of cases in her dorm last spring. If there is a significant outbreak this fall there is discussion about the possibility of doing virtual classes and having food delivered to rooms. One thing that concerns me in terms of spread is that you can apparently have the virus without the fever. I’m not sure that many people are aware of that. The NYTimes had an article which said that a third of those screened with H1N1 in Mexico had no fever.</p>
<p>Mezzo, if you have any children who are far from home and who have an underlying health condition that might put them at risk of a serious H1N1 infection, you should talk to your doctor about providing Tamiflu for them, as Jamiecakes did. Jamiecakes did the prudent thing. I live near the NY outbreaks of April and May and know that the undereported number of deaths in this area represent only the “first wave” of this illness. The second wave is likely to be much worse, and this slow-growing virus means that the vaccine will not be available to very many people until well past the peak of the second wave. Jamiecakes is right. The cytokeine storm phenomenon is something that we don’t fully understand, and we cannot predict who will succumb. For this reason, we all should do everything we can to arm ourselves and our families with any defense possible. There is no shortage of Tamilflu or Relenza at this time, and the virus is quite stable for now, so Tamiflu is a fairly effective treatment. You can get some, if you need it.</p>
<p>There are already about five H1N1 threads- but I want to ask question. ( no I do not rely on the internets for all my medical advice- but you guys have longer office hours)</p>
<p>I have asthma as do my kids- all very mild- we have inhalers but don’t take meds- although occasionally, I will get a cold ( every couple years or so) that will go into my lungs and will hang on for few weeks.
( my mother has severe asthma- uses the nebulizer several times daily- always gets all the vaccines- doesn’t seem to help that much- )</p>
<p>But older D works with elementary school students and younger D is moving into a good sized dorm- what should we think about besides washing hands and the usual precautions?</p>
<p>They are going to sniff at whatever I suggest- they both have milder asthma than I do thank goodness- and I can’t make the one D change jobs or the other one get a single family home instead of a dorm ;),</p>