UK - GP 17th swine flu death

[Gert van der Hoek]

Healthy six-year-old girl and GP killed by swine flu as death toll in Britain hits 17

By HEALTH REPORTER

Last updated at 4:03 PM on 13th July 2009


An apparently healthy six-year-old girl and a GP were confirmed today as the latest victims of swine flu, taking the number of UK deaths linked to the virus to 17.
She is the first child in the UK without underlying health problems to be killed by the virus.
Chloe Buckley, who lived in West Drayton, London, died at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington a day after her doctor allegedly misdiagnosed her illness as tonsillitis.
It is claimed the schoolgirl was taken to her GP with a sore throat on Wednesday but was sent home without being prescribed the antiviral flu drug Tamiflu.
Her condition deteriorated overnight and her parents Michael, 40, and Jacinta, 37, then rushed Chloe to Hillingdon Hospital in Uxbridge on Thursday morning.

She was transferred for emergency treatment to St Mary's but died a few hours later on Thursday evening. She was due to celebrate her seventh birthday on Friday.
Chloe's headteacher, Sara Benn, at St Catherine's RC Primary School, said: "Chloe was a bright and tenacious student with a keen interest in sports and will be missed by her fellow pupils and teachers at the school."

Provisional tests revealed she had contracted swine flu although a post mortem is expected to confirm the cause of death today.
Meanwhile, Bedfordshire GP, Dr Michael Day, died on Saturday in the Luton and Dunstable Hospital.

17th death: Dr Michael Day died at the Luton & Dunstable Hospital on Saturday of swine flu

A swab test has subsequently shown he had swine flu although his death will be investigated by the local coroner to determine its exact cause, a statement from NHS East of England said.

Chloe's death will spark widespread fears that the virus is increasingly potent after an otherwise healthy man from Essex died of the virus on Friday.
Her death comes as it was announced that twenty million people will be vaccinated against swine flu by Christmas, with everyone receiving the jab by the middle of next year.

Doctor Tanner, NHS London's regional director of public health, said: 'We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the family at this difficult time as they come to terms with their loss.'

He said Chloe had contracted the virus in the UK.

He described her death as 'sad' and added: 'It will probably not be the last that we have in this pandemic.'

Experts are drawing up a priority list of patients to be given immunity before the bug becomes more virulent.

Those first in the queue for the jabs are expected to be the elderly, infants under the age of five, people with asthma and diabetes, and those with compromised immune systems. NHS and social care workers would also get them first.

Ministers ordered 130million doses of the vaccine two months ago, in what would be the biggest vaccination programme of the last 50 years. The first batch is expected to arrive by the end of next month.

On Friday, the first healthy person in Britain died after contracting the virus. Of the 16 people who have died of swine flu, all the others had underlying health problems before they succumbed.

Health secretary Andy Burnham has warned that 100,000 people might be contracting the bug every day by the end of next month.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...xzz0L9ftVqXH&C

[Shiloh]

Re: UK - GP 17th swine flu death

Source; http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...swine-flu.html

Swine flu death toll rises to 17

By ANDY WHELAN and ANTONELLA LAZZERI

Published: Today

A SIX-YEAR-OLD girl and a GP were confirmed today as two of the latest victims of swine flu, taking the number of UK deaths linked to the virus to 17.

Little Chloe Buckley, from North West London, died on Thursday at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington.

A post-mortem examination is set to be carried out to determine if the youngster had any underlying health conditions.

Meanwhile, Bedfordshire GP, Dr Michael Day, died on Saturday in the Luton and Dunstable Hospital.

A swab test showed he had contracted swine flu although his death will be investigated by the local coroner to determine the exact cause, a statement from NHS East of England said.

The first British patient without underlying health problems died of swine flu on Friday.

The patient, from Essex, died in Basildon.

Shock

Dr Paul Hassan, senior partner at the Priory Gardens Health Centre where Dr Day worked, said: "This news has come as such a shock to us all and we are completely devastated.

"Dr Day was a work colleague and also a personal friend to everyone at the practice.

"I know the news will also come as a great shock to our patients, many of whom have known him for many years.

"Our thoughts at this time are with his wife and family."

NHS Bedfordshire Chair, Sarah Boulton, said: "We are all very shocked and saddened at the news of the sudden death of Dr Day.

"On behalf of all the staff at NHS Bedfordshire, I would like to offer my sincere condolences to his family and also to the staff who worked so closely with him."

Tragic Chloe went to see a doctor after feeling poorly last Wednesday, but was told she had tonsillitis and was sent home without getting the Tamiflu antiviral drug.


The St Catherine's RC Primary School pupil's condition deteriorated over night and at 10am on Thursday her parents took her to hospital.

Chloe died just hours later on Thursday evening.

Chloe's devastated parents learnt last night their daughter had the killer bug following tests.

A mum with a child at the same school as Chloe said the community was in shock following her tragic death.

She added Chloe's mum and dad were religious people who cherished their daughter and two older sons.

Devastated

She revealed: "Chloe was fit and healthy and in school on Monday and Tuesday.

"By Wednesday she had developed a very sore throat and her mother took her to the doctors.

"But the doctor said she had tonsillitis and sent her home without giving her Tamiflu.

"Over night she became incredibly unwell.

"Last night her parents were told the test results had come back and she died of swine flu.

"They are devastated because they feel Chloe could still be alive if she was given Tamiflu on Wednesday.

"They are such a close family and those parents did everything for their children."

Her headteacher, Sara Benn, said: "It is impossible to put into words the sorrow that the whole school feels in such tragic circumstances.

"Chloe was a bright and tenacious student with a keen interest in sports.

"She will be missed by her fellow pupils and her teachers at the school.

"Our thoughts are with her parents and family at this time.

"We are working with the council and health authority to support parents and pupils dealing with this devastating news."

Many of Chloe's classmates are being kept at home today because parents fear the virus could sweep through the school.

Doctor Simon Tanner, NHS London's regional director of public health, said: "We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the family at this difficult time as they come to terms with their loss.

"We don't know if she had underlying health issues.

"There is a post-mortem examination planned. At that point we hope to say if there were underlying health problems."

Dr Tanner said it was difficult to say exactly how many people have caught the virus now patients are no longer swabbed.

He said most people who contracted the virus would experience mild symptoms and feel better within a few days.

The advice to regularly wash hands and throw away used tissues remains the same, he added.

There are at least 9,718 confirmed cases of swine flu in the UK - the third highest in the world behind Mexico, where the bug was first identified, and the US.

But it is not known how many people are truly suffering from swine flu as many may be treating themselves at home rather than contacting their GP.

London and the West Midlands are approaching epidemic levels in terms of the number of cases being reported.

[wotan]

Re: UK - GP 17th swine flu death

Try to understand this one:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8150527.stm

<!-- SiteVersions -->
<table class="datetools" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td> Page last updated at 16:23 GMT, Tuesday, 14 July 2009 17:23 UK
<table width="416" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr> <td width="213"> E-mail this to a friend </td> <td width="203"> Printable version </td> </tr></tbody></table>
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table class="storycontent" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr> <td colspan="2"> GP did not die from swine flu


</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="storybody"> <!-- S BO --> <!-- S IIMA --> <table width="226" align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr><td> Dr Michael Day worked as a doctor at a Bedfordshire health centre

</td></tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IIMA --> <!-- S SF -->The post-mortem of a GP who died after contracting swine flu has revealed that he died of natural causes.
Dr Michael Day, 64, who was a GP from Dunstable, died on Saturday after contracting the H1N1 virus.
Bedfordshire Police said that as a result there would not be an inquest into his death, as it was not caused by swine flu.
A post-mortem is still due for Chloe Buckley, six, from north west London who died after contracting swine flu.
<!-- E SF -->Dr Day, who worked at the Priory Gardens health centre in Dunstable, died on Saturday in Luton and Dunstable Hospital.
Chloe, who died on Thursday at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, central London, had contracted the virus in the UK.
She attended St Catherine's School in West Drayton, north west London.
The school has closed early for the summer break following her death.
</td></tr></tbody></table>

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: UK - GP 17th swine flu death

From Revere's blog, Effectmeasure :


Swine flu: how not to report a fatal outcome

Posted on: July 15, 2009 6:21 AM, by revere

I hate to take off on the press. I do it every once in a while, but not often. The slow and agonizing demise of the main stream press has major consequences for keeping the public informed about issues both big and small. It's also a personal tragedy for many dedicated professional journalists. Still, while newspapers-as-we-knew-them aren't dead yet, they are at least moribund, and like the famous definition of a statesman as a successful politician who is dead, there is more than a bit of a tendency to endow the working press with some virtues it doesn't have now and in general never did. There is quite a lot of truly dreadful reporting every day and it isn't new. Consider the tragic case of the GP in the UK who died after contracting swine flu:

Natural causes claimed swine flu GP

Swine flu sufferer Dr Michael Day died from natural causes with the major factor being a blood clot to the lungs, it has emerged.
No inquest will be held into the 64-year-old GP, who died on Saturday in the Luton and Dunstable Hospital, said a spokeswoman for Bedfordshire Police.

Tests carried out following his death showed he was suffering from the swine flu virus but a post mortem examination established he died from natural causes.

Sources said Dr Day died primarily from a blood clot to the lungs. He also suffered from heart disease and high blood pressure, and had viral pneumonia. (The Guardian, UK)


This is a news feed from a UK wire service, The Press Association. It was carried in many news outlets in the UK. Alas, it is not an outlier.

What's wrong with it? Two things.

First, it's just taking dictation from a police spokesperson. It's reporting, all right, in the most literal sense. The Press Association "reported" what the police spokesperson said. And that's all they did. A tape recorder could do that (and maybe did).

Second, there is a complete failure to examine the meaning of what was reported. Meaning in the most literal sense. What does it mean when someone who has swine flu dies of "natural causes"? This doctor had heart disease, high blood pressure and . . . viral pneumonia!. On the one hand we're told that a major risk factor for dying from swine flu is having an underlying medical condition. Like what? Heart disease and high blood pressure? And what does infection with the influenza virus cause in someone's lungs? How about viral pneumonia. How a police spokesperson could say, with a straight face, that the doctor didn't die of swine flu but "natural causes," and then that a reporter could copy it down and transmit it to readers as some kind of fact beggars belief. But it's quite common and barely raises surprise or comment.

The egregiously bad reporting aside, there are some interesting scientific questions in this personal tragedy (this is the first health care worker I am aware of to die in the acute phase of a swine flu infection). A CDC MMWR Dispatch widely reported last week reported in 10 cases from a Michigan tertiary care facility that treated Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) in 10 swine flu cases. There were two unusual features in this case series (which is not obviously representative of all severely ill swine flu victims but still of interest). One was the high proportion of very obese patients. In CDC lingo, Body Mass Index (BMI) from 25 to 30 is considered "overweight." Obesity is a BMI over 30. If someone has a BMI over 40, they are considered "morbidly obese" (if you want to know what your BMI is you can go to one of many online calculators, for example, here; you'll need to enter your height and weight). Nine of 10 were obese by these standards (BMI over 30), and 6 of the 10 were morbidly obese (BMI over 40), 4 of the 6 with BMIs over 50. I'm a person of average height (5'10"). To have a BMI of 50 I would need to weigh 350 pounds. The relationship of marked obesity has not been previously noted.

I don't know the weight of the doctor who died (his photo is head shot but he doesn't appear morbidly obese), so there is no indication that obesity is an additional risk factor here. So why am I bringing up this report? Because there was another unusual feature in these 10 intensive care patients. Half of them had pulmonary emboli (blood clots in the lung):

Pulmonary emboli are not known to be a common complication of ARDS or of sepsis syndrome, but both ARDS and sepsis represent hypercoagulable states. Pulmonary emboli were not noted in patients hospitalized with novel influenza A (H1N1) virus infection in Mexico. One clinical study did not identify any increased risk for pulmonary embolism with seasonal influenza virus infection. However, a report of two patients with rapidly progressive hypoxemia associated with influenza A (H3N2) virus infection noted that they received a diagnosis of acute pulmonary embolism. Clinicians providing care to patients with novel influenza A (H1N1) virus infection should be aware of the potential for patients with ARDS to develop a hypercoagulable state and for pulmonary emboli to cause severe complications, including fatal outcomes. (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports, CDC [cites omitted])
The unfortunate doctor in this case probably died of his pulmonary emboli, so he becomes yet another data point associated swine flu associated ARDS. Whether pulmonary emboli went along with obesity in his case is thus of interest. I understand that these scientific issues are probably beyond the ken of most non specialist reporters, but one would think that the death of the first GP at a time when the role of GPs in treating swine flu is a matter of discussion and controversy in the UK would have merited more than perfunctory treatment. And to call it perfunctory is perhaps being generous.

I regret beating up on a press already reeling from the catastrophic economics of their industry. If this case were unusual, now or in the past, I'd probably let it go. But it isn't unusual. When we acknowledge and mourn what we are losing with the demise of newspapers -- important things we got regularly -- we should remember other things we also got: regularly.

http://scienceblogs.com/effectmeasure/2009/07/swine_flu_how_not_to_report_a.php

[Road_Hog]

Re: UK - GP 17th swine flu death

From Revere's blog, Effectmeasure :


Swine flu: how not to report a fatal outcome

Posted on: July 15, 2009 6:21 AM, by revere

I hate to take off on the press. I do it every once in a while, but not often. The slow and agonizing demise of the main stream press has major consequences for keeping the public informed about issues both big and small. It's also a personal tragedy for many dedicated professional journalists.

I must say, I totally agree with this. Over the past 12 months, the more I have researched news on the internet and then read the mainstream media/papers I despair at the poor reporting, through lack of research, lazyness or general bias.

There is very little accurate reporting on this subject or at least in the UK, there is.

[FrenchieGirl]

Re: UK - GP 17th swine flu death

Swine flu did contribute to GP's death

Dr Michael Day: Swine flu contributed to his death

Published Date: 20 July 2009

Virus was 'significant' factor

Swine flu did play a significant role in the death of a popular Dunstable GP, health authority bosses say.

Follow the death of Dr Michael Day, there was speculation among the national media that his death had been caused to underlying health issues.

Dr Day, 64, who had worked at the Priory Gardens Health Centre for 35 years, had tested positive for the H1N1 virus following his death at the Luton & Dunstable Hospital on July 11.

A post-mortem examination last Tuesday ruled that Dr Day died from natural causes and national newspapers subsequently reported he died from further health complications, including a blood clot on the lungs.

A statement released by NHS Bedfordshire on Friday said: "The final coroner's report following the post-mortem into Dr Day's death has confirmed that swine flu was a significant factor in his death."

A memorial service is set to take place at the Priory Church in Dunstable at 4.30pm this Saturday (July 25). Dr Day's family have asked that anyone wishing to attend does not dress in black and have asked for family flowers only.

Instead of flowers, the family have set up a charity collection in aid of Keech Cottage children's hospice in Luton and the RNLI.