Queens tot suspected to be second swine flu death in New York City

[HenryN]

BY JOHN VALENTI | john.valenti@newsday.com

7:04 AM EDT, May 19, 2009

A 16-month-old boy, who died late Monday night at Elmhurst General Hospital in Queens, is suspected of being the second swine flu fatality in New York City, a hospital spokesman told Newsday.

A brother and a cousin of the dead child, who was described only as "an Hispanic male" from Corona, also have been taken to the hospital with suspected cases of the H1N1 virus.

Hospital spokesman Dario Centorcelli said Tuesday that the 16-month-old was brought to the hospital at approximately 9:30 p.m. Monday with a high fever and was pronounced dead at 10:20 p.m.

He said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta must conduct tests to verify whether the child died as a result of the swine flu virus. "We're waiting for those results," he said.

The dead boy's brother is 3 years old, Centorcelli told Newsday. The cousin is 1, he said.

The first confirmed swine flu death in New York City occurred Sunday, when Mitchell Wiener, 55, an assistant principal at IS 238 in Hollis, Queens, died at Flushing Hospital Medical Center from the virus.

[HenryN]

Link has been pulled

http://www.newsday.com/news/health/n...,6787057.story

[The Mountains Voice]

Originally Posted by niman

Link has been pulled

http://www.newsday.com/news/health/n...,6787057.story

Not this one - Queens toddler dies; swine flu suspected
by Staten Island Advance
Tuesday May 19, 2009, 7:00 AM
A 16-month old Queens toddler may have become the second New York City victim of the swine flu, CBS news reports.

The child was brought to Elmhurst Hospital suffering from high fever and other flu-like symptoms and died shortly after 10:00pm Monday.

A hospital spokesman told CBS confirmation will have to come from a medical examiner and the Centers for Disease Control.

The death comes one day after the confirmed swine flu related death of a Queens assistant school principal.

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf...swine_flu.html

[The Mountains Voice]

Originally Posted by niman

Link has been pulled

http://www.newsday.com/news/health/n...,6787057.story

When are these people going to learn. I am absolutely frothing at the mouth at all the Spin and Manipulation.

[thebes]

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/health/sw..._new_york_city

Second Possible Swine
Flu Death
Swine Flu Coverage
Updated: Tuesday, 19 May 2009, 7:20 AM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 19 May 2009, 6:46 AM EDT

NEW YORK - A medical examiner will determine if the 16-month-old boy who died shortly after arriving at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens is the second death from swine flu in New York City.

Family members say the boy was turning blue as they rushed him to the hospital.

Fox 5 Reporter Katherine Creag is outside the hospital talking with officials.

Watch the video, left.

(AP) -The New York City Health Department is investigating the death of a toddler who was taken to a hospita with flu-like symptoms.

Department spokeswoman Jessica Scaperotti said Tuesday the child was 16 months old. She said the agency does not discuss specific cases. It's not yet known how long the investigation will take.

Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens said the little boy had a high fever when he was brought in. On Sunday, a public school assistant principal, Mitchell Wiener, became the city's first swine flu death.

Hospital and city officials say complications besides the virus probably played a part in Wiener's death. But his family has said he suffered only from gout, a joint disease.

The Health Department says schools will be asked to make daily reports to local health agencies when sickness spikes. Local officials will still decide whether schools stay open.

[The Mountains Voice]

Originally Posted by niman

Link has been pulled

http://www.newsday.com/news/health/n...,6787057.story

Nor this one.....
Baby in NYC Dies of Possible Swine Flu AP
posted: 15 MINUTES AGOcomments: 6filed under: Health News, National News, Swine Flu

NEW YORK (May 19) -- The New York City Health Department is investigating the death of a toddler as a possible swine flu case.
The 16-month-old boy died Monday night at Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens. Hospital officials said he had a high fever when he was brought in.
Health Department spokeswoman Jessica Scaperotti confirmed the investigation but said the agency does not discuss specific cases. It's not yet known how long the investigation will take.
On Sunday, a public school assistant principal, Mitchell Wiener (WEE'-ner), became the city's first swine flu death.
Hospital and city officials say complications besides the virus probably played a part in Wiener's death. But his family has said he suffered only from gout, a joint disease.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2009-05-19 07:09:47

http://news.aol.com/article/baby-in-...ine-flu/486753

[FluBossie]

Second NYC Death May Be Linked to Spreading Swine Flu

By XANA O'NEILL

Updated 7:23 AM EDT, Tue, May 19, 2009

Related Topics: Margaret Chan

AP
The suspected flu-related death comes as the number of cases around the globe soared and the World Health Organization said it was more difficult to produce a vaccine for the virus than initially thought.

A 16-month-old infant may be the latest U.S. victim of swine flu and the second fatality in New York City in as many days as the deadly virus that has infected as many as 100,000 Americans continues to spread.

The baby, who suffered from flu-like symptoms, died less than an hour after his family took him to a Queens hospital last night just a day after an assistant vice principal became the city's first swine-flu related fatality. It was unconfirmed whether the infant had swine flu.

The suspected flu-related death comes as the number of cases around the globe soared and the World Health Organization said it was more difficult to produce a vaccine for the virus than initially thought.

The WHO believed a vaccine for the virus could start production in late May, but flu experts told the group Tuesday that it would not be readyto make the drug until mid-July.

As many as 100,000 Americans are infected with the virus that has spread with a vengeance to 46 states and across the globe, leaving death and sickness in its wake. The outbreak has sickened nearly 9,000 people in more than 40 countries and is responsible for 80 deaths.

The WHO held off on raising its alert yesterday as Britain, Japan and China urged the group to maintain its phase five status -- phase six would indicate a pandemic is in effect.

"It's certainly something we will look at very closely," said Dr. Keiji Fukuda, WHO's flu chief.

Japan had the biggest spike in the number of cases -- reporting a jump from four to 170 cases over the weekend, health officials said today. Most cases were teenagers who had not traveled overseas.

Spain and Britain have the highest numbers of cases in Europe, reporting 103 and 101 cases, respectively.

Copyright Associated Press

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/us_worl...-Flu-0519.html

[The Mountains Voice]

Originally Posted by thebes

Family members say the boy was turning blue as they rushed him to the hospital.

Sounds like 1918 all over again. If the media doesn't bury this story - this might be the catalyst for some serious questions to begin being asked publicly. This flu is hitting a new level it seems - is there any recent data on the genetics of the NY strain? Is it becoming more virulent already? Or is this just the numbers catching up with us?

[The Mountains Voice]

Originally Posted by thebes

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/health/sw..._new_york_city

Link above has a FOX TV video - shows and comments on police officers coming in and out of hospital are wearing masks. This is the sort of thing that generates the news media frenzy. Good news is that this should get more coverage. Bad news is that it's probably not going to focus on the real issues - just serve as sensationalism.

[The Mountains Voice]

L.I. Schools Open
Despite Swine Flu
Swine Flu Coverage
Updated: Tuesday, 19 May 2009, 7:39 AM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 19 May 2009, 7:39 AM EDT

MYFOXNY.COM - Five school districts on Long Island are keeping their doors open despite confirmed swine flu among their student body.

Officials say they are following new, updated guidelines from the federal government.

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/health/sw...with_swine_flu

[The Mountains Voice]

CDC Investigating Case Of 16-Month-Old Queens Baby Who Was Suffering From Flu-Like Symptoms
Hundreds Of Patients Flock To Elmhurst Hospital Complaining Of Discomfort Reporting
Jay Dow NEW YORK (CBS) ―

As officials walk the fine line of trying to slow the growing swine flu outbreak without inciting public panic, they're now faced with the possibility of another fatal case at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens.

Monday night, around 9:30, a 16-month-old was rushed into the ER with flu-like symptoms. Less than an hour later, the infant died, and now the hard work begins to determine if it's the city's second fatal case of swine flu.

Friends and loved ones are still grieving for the first New York victim, IS-238 Assistant Principal Mitchell Wiener.

"He was one of the teachers that you could go and talk to if you had any problems," said student Elaina Bailey. "I really liked him and I'll really miss him."

His wife Bonnie, surrounded by those who knew and loved the veteran educator, held a vigil Monday night outside the school.

"He loved coming to work every day," said Bonnie Wiener. "He was happiest when he was sitting behind his desk in his office. He hated to go on vacation."

Wiener spent five days in the hospital before succumbing to the H1N1 virus, which is proving an elusive target for health officials.

"This flu is different from other flus," said New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden. "We don't have a vaccine against it yet. It appears that we don't have a lot of natural immunity to it, at least many people don't."

So far, the outbreak has caused six deaths nationwide. But that's fewer than the average flu season. Every year, the flu puts 200,000 people in the hopsital and causes 36,000 deaths. But make no mistake, anxiety is also spreading. Doctors at Elmhurst Hospital say the number of walk-in patients has increased sharply.

"The wait times in the emergency rooms have tripled or quadrupled just because people are walking in that aren't sick," said Dr. Luis Rodriguez of Elmhurst Hospital. "In the meantime, when we really have emergent cases, we have to prioritize, and the staff is outstretched."

Meanwhile, making a swine flu vaccine appears to be more difficult than experts first thought, the World Health Organization acknowledged Tuesday as U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and WHO chief Dr. Margaret Chan met with pharmaceutical companies.

Health officials from around the world are attending WHO's annual meeting in Geneva this week to discuss the outbreak that has infected 9,000 people in over 40 countries, killing 76 of them.

Flu experts have told WHO that vaccine manufacturers will not be ready to produce a swine flu vaccine until mid-July at the earliest, WHO reported Tuesday. Previously, WHO officials had thought production could start in late May.

Experts also found no evidence that regular flu vaccines offer any protection against swine flu.

Symptoms of the swine flu include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting as well. Anyone experiencing severe symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, should seek health care and treatment. The best way to prevent additional cases of flu in schools is to stay home when sick, cover your mouth when coughing and sneezing, and wash hands frequently.

For those who are ill, the recommendation is to stay home until they are symptom-free for at least 24 hours.

Eating pork or pork products cannot spread the swine flu.

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/elmhurs...2.1013045.html

[The Mountains Voice]

http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stori...s/Default.aspx

There is a video news report at above link. They interview the hospital administrator and ask him what symptoms led up to his mother bringing him in to the hospital, where he died one hour later.

He said that the mother noticed he had a fever in the morning, but was eating that afternoon - but in the evening she noticed he was non-responsive and took him to the hospital where he died 1 hour later. Other news reports have indicated that he was blue when brought in. This speed of deterioration, and blue coloring (cyanosis due to lack of exygen in the blood) is consistent with many descriptions of deaths in the 1918 pandemic.

[AlexanderSJones]

"now the hard work begins to determine if it's the city's second fatal case of swine flu."

The hard work huh. They must mean run RT rtPCR on the sample. This should not take more than 24h - 48h. I am also quite sick of the spin -- people's lives are at stake here -- it is not a game for the authorities to play around with.

Anyway I agree Mountain and thebes that this suggests cyanosis. Good catch Dr Niman... I wonder if this is the regular New York strain.

Statistically, you would expect this (cyanosis) to happen occasionally even without new polymorphisms. But they will definitely need to sequence the strain and post it online so we can check.

[HenryN]

Map of NYC cases

Maps

[Commonground]

He said that the mother noticed he had a fever in the morning, but was eating that afternoon - but in the evening she noticed he was non-responsive and took him to the hospital where he died 1 hour later.

I don't believe this. That is way to quick.

[HenryN]

Originally Posted by Commonground

I don't believe this. That is way to quick.

In 1918 people got on the subway and were dead before they reached their destination.

[Commonground]

Originally Posted by niman

In 1918 people got on the subway and were dead before they reached their destination.

apples and oranges

[AlexanderSJones]

How is it apples and oranges?

1918 was a swine virus that came in multiple waves. We are already at a 0.4% case fatality rate -- this is comparable to the 1957 pandemic. There are probably not many SNPs required to increase the H1N1 case fatality rate to the level of 1918 (2.5%).

The only questions to me, really, are:

A) Did the toddler die of H1N1?
B) If so, what is the genome sequence?

[sharon sanders]

In the first few hours of a media event some of the news reports are not 100%. We have seen this many times. Maybe the toddler was eating or he simply sipped some fluid? These reports are important in the collection of information but not necessarily 100% definitive.

[Extrapolation]

Originally Posted by AlexanderSJones

The hard work huh. They must mean run RT rtPCR on the sample. This should not take more than 24h - 48h. I am also quite sick of the spin -- people's lives are at stake here -- it is not a game for the authorities to play around with.

Anyway I agree Mountain and thebes that this suggests cyanosis. Good catch Dr Niman... I wonder if this is the regular New York strain.

Statistically, you would expect this (cyanosis) to happen occasionally even without new polymorphisms. But they will definitely need to sequence the strain and post it online so we can check.

Did I miss something? Where is the NYC cyanosis stated - there were several reports of cyanosis in Mexico flying in early April - in deaths that were reported as "bacterial pneumonia" - and atypical pneumonia

[HenryN]

Originally Posted by Commonground

apples and oranges

Only by year. So far 2009 is a 1918 re-run.

[HenryN]

Originally Posted by Extrapolation

Did I miss something? Where is the NYC cyanosis stated - there were several reports of cyanosis in Mexico flying in early April - in deaths that were reported as "bacterial pneumonia" - and atypical pneumonia

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/sho...26&postcount=5

[ops144]

remember small children have all kinds of illness's also.

being a firefighter paramedic i have seen kids with all

different kinds of colds....this may not have been h1n1

just playin devils advocate..but it is true.

[thebes]

Updates on NYC outbreak:

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/20...u-concerns/?hp
Toddler’s Death Stokes Flu Concerns
By Sewell Chan
Updated, 11:32 a.m. | New York City health authorities are investigating the death of a 16-month-old child as a possible case of swine flu.

The boy, identified as Jonathan Zamora Castillo of Corona, Queens, died at 10:20 p.m. Monday at Elmhurst Hospital Center, less than an hour after being brought in with a high fever, the hospital announced. The child’s 3-year-old sibling, who was also brought to the hospital, was treated and released, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said Tuesday morning.

In addition, the mayor announced that there were four confirmed and four probable cases of swine flu at Rikers Island, the city’s jail complex.

On Sunday, an assistant principal at a Queens public school, Mitchell Wiener, became the city’s first swine flu death. It was not clear whether the child who died Monday night had any underlying health problems.

“Every parent in the city, myself included, can appreciate the grief the parents of these children are experiencing,” the mayor said of Jonathan’s parents. “We don’t yet know if the child who died had contracted the H1N1 virus. Tests will be performed at the city’s Health Department lab to investigate that question.”

In a suggestion that the city was concerned that residents without health insurance and illegal immigrants might be hesitant to go to hospitals, the mayor emphasized that neither factor should hinder anyone ill from seeking treatment.

“Whether you have health insurance coverage or your immigration status is in question, it doesn’t matter,” the mayor said. “We will not ask about that. I don’t know and don’t care what the immigration status was of the children in question.”

Alan D. Aviles, the president of the city’s Health and Hospitals Corporation, said that emergency admissions were running about 50 percent higher than usual for adults and “more than 100 percent above average” for children.

The union representing the city’s correctional officers issued a statement on Tuesday morning criticizing the response to the swine-flu outbreak among inmates, and suggested that inmates be temporarily relocated to other facilities. The union, the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, has scheduled a 12:30 p.m. news conference.

In his news conference, the mayor rejected the idea of relocating the inmates.

“Correction and health officials are monitoring the situation and preparing to implement additional inmate screening and, where needed, isolation of ill inmates,” the mayor said. “It is in some senses easier to control because, obviously, the prisoners can’t leave. On the other hand, it is also a confined area where we really don’t have the choice of moving people out and asking them to stay home The situation in the schools if you think about it, is exactly the reverse.”

Asked about the call by Norman I. Seabrook, the president of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, for inmates to be relocated, the mayor turned a bit testy. “If he’s an epidemiologist, it’s the first time I heard, but I’ll be happy to listen to him,” the mayor said.

Also on Tuesday, city officials took questions on the criteria used to determine when and which schools to close. Since late last week, 16 schools in 12 school buildings have been ordered shut.

Dr. Adam Karpati, a deputy health commissioner, who was at the mayor’s news conference, said:

Our main criteria that we’re looking at is not necessarily absenteeism. Children are absent from school for a variety of reasons. What we’re really focusing on is kids who are being identified by the school nurse in the school as having a documented fever when they come into the room. That’s the main indicator we’re looking at.

Dario Centorcelli, a spokesman for Elmhurst Hospital Center, where the child died, said there were typically about 200 patients each day in the pediatric emergency room, a number that rose sharply over the weekend and peaked at 407 patients on Monday.

“We’re pulling resources from every place we can,” to deal with increased demand, Mr. Centorcelli said. “So far we’ve been coping,” he said, while noting that there were now longer waits for patients.

The waiting room for pediatric emergency care on Tuesday was crowded with about 75 children and adults. Many wore surgical masks. Kids slept on colorful benches, in front of a mural of Central Park.

**************************************************

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/..._hospital.html

Health officials could determine as early as Tuesday afternoon whether swine flu killed a 16-month-old baby in Queens, authorities said.

Mayor Bloomberg said tests are being performed to pinpoint whether the child, identified by sources as Jonathan Zamora, is the city's second death related to the H1N1 virus.

"What we do know is a child is dead, and it's very tragic," he said at a Tuesday morning briefing in Midtown. "Speculation is not something we want to do."

Officials also said there are four confirmed cases of the flu at the Rikers Island prison complex, leading corrections staff to take precautions.

Both new inmates and prisoners being transported to court will be checked for flu-like symptoms, Bloomberg said.

The mayor also predicted more schools could be added to the list of 15 public, one parochial and one private school that have been shuttered.

The developments come hours after the Monday night death of Zamora, whose parents emigrated from Mexico four years ago but have not returned to their homeland recently.

Officials said Zamora had no pre-existing health problems. His parents noticed he had a high fever - it spiked to 105 degrees - when they put him to bed Sunday night. He died soon after he was rushed to Elmhurst Hospital late Monday.

The hospital took tissue swabs from Jonathan's body and the the city's public health lab will test to determine if he died of the H1N1 virus, Health Department spokeswoman Jessica Scaperotti said.

"We're beginning the investigation today," Scaperotti said Tuesday.

The baby's 3-year-old sister and two cousins also came down with flulike symptoms.
The other three children, who lived in Corona with Jonathan, were treated at the same hospital and released. One of the released children attended a nursery school near the family's home.

"They don't want to talk to anyone," said Alex Ramirez, 32, who answered the door at the home of the grieving parents.

The pediatric emergency room at Elmhurst Hospital saw two to three times its normal volume of visitors, hospital officials said.

"People are frightened," hospital spokesman Dario Centorcelli said.

"We're pretty much overwhelmed here," Centorcelli said. "We only have so much room and so much staff. We've put on extra staff, we've opened extra clinics. There's only so much room and staff we have."

Those seeking treatment reported waits of up to 10 hours.

Edgar Villalba, 12, waited nine hours with his mother for his 10-month-old sister to be seen. "You just see people coughing, sneezing, wearing masks," he said of the overloaded emergency waiting room. He said his sister does not have swine flu.

The vast majority of people seeking help are being told to return home to rest and to take Tylenol or ibuprofin, sold over the counter as Advil or Motrin or in generic form. "Most of the cases are mild," Centorcelli said.

[HenryN]

Commentary

[Lizw]

Originally Posted by Commonground

I don't believe this. That is way to quick.

It appears that the mother was caring for four small children. One of them taking a nap and not being a problem would quite possibly have been viewed as a relief for her, one less kid she had to keep track of. It might be only when she couldn't rouse him that she became really concerned. When I was an EMT, I heard more than one parent say, "But my child was fine just a few hours ago--why is he so sick now?" There can be lots of reasons. Kids have much less reserve to fight off life-threatening conditions. When something hits them they can go fast.

[tropical]

#24: "... child's ... sibling ... also ... treated ..."

So, some bug sure circulated.
So much similarity of 1918 symptoms to be droped.
Cases foging is already on work.
Estimated 1 milion of already infected, USA (tipicaly 10 x more than officialy 100.000).
The 1918 bug was in recent years lab resuscitated.
So much coincidences to prefer only the easy/inocent options.


#25: recombinomics link text

This triple virus "party" at 34-41 C environment temperature, scientificaly confirmed.

Summer is aproaching in the northern hemisphere.
That leaves the virus "fading/vanishing" as wishfull dreams.

More barriers of every kind, more time to reach the multiple seasonal/pandemic vaccines.

[hornblower]

http://www.newsday.com/news/printedi...,2608963.story

BY MICHAEL FRAZIER | michael.frazier@newsday.com
10:43 PM EDT, May 19, 2009

[PHOTO] 15-month-old Jonathan Zamora-Castillo died at Elmhurst Hospital Center Monday night after exhibiting symptoms of swine flu. (Handout / May 19, 2009)


As swine flu continued Tuesday to migrate through city schools and Rikers Island, city health officials said preliminary test results show a Queens toddler did not die of the virus.

In a statement Tuesday night, the city health department said tests on nasal swabs from 15-month-old Jonathan Zamora Castillo "did not indicate H1N1 infection."

Because the boy died, however, the city is sending tissue specimens to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta to get "definitive results." Results are expected later this week.

Yesterday, health officials confirmed four swine flu cases and four probable cases involving inmates at Rikers Island. The confirmed cases includes an inmate whose test showed last week he had the virus.

The ongoing flu outbreak prompted the closure of three more schools - two in Queens and one in lower Manhattan. The trio will be closed as of Thursday. It also has prompted a series of school closings in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Fifteen public schools and one parochial school in Queens also remained closed yesterday. One all-boys school on Manhattan's Upper East Side closed voluntarily.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a public health briefing Tuesday that the city did the tests on the toddler after Jonathan's parents took him to a Queens hospital with flulike symptoms and the boy died within an hour.

Earlier, the boy's father said in an interview that doctors told him his son didn't have swine flu. "We don't know what my son died of," said Zeferino Zamora, 30, speaking in Spanish outside his home in Corona.

Private doctors and hospitals in New York City cannot confirm swine flu tests. Only the city's health department can perform that test locally, said Dr. Adam Karpati, a deputy commissioner in the agency.

The city's only confirmed swine flu death came Sunday, when Mitchell Wiener, 55, an assistant principal at IS 238 in Hollis, died from the virus at a Queens hospital.

Tuesday, Zamora was initially reluctant to talk with a group of reporters. But he eventually recalled the night his son fell ill. Zamora, a dishwasher, said he arrived home from work about 8:30 p.m. Monday and his wife, Gloria Castillo, 20, told him she thought their son, who had been fine in the morning, was sick. "She touched his cheek," which was hot with fever, although he said a thermometer wasn't used.

The couple rushed the boy to Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens, where he died at 10:20 p.m. Zamora said the family arranged with the Mexican consulate to have his son's body taken to Mexico for burial.

Health officials said Jonathan's 3-year-old sister, Michelle, and a 1-year-old cousin, who had mild influenza-like symptoms, were treated at the same hospital around the same time and released.

Maria Alvarez and staff writers

Sophia Chang and John Valenti
contributed to this story

[AlaskaDenise]

Originally Posted by niman

Commentary

Commentary

Suspect Swine H1N1 Toddler Death in NY Raises Concerns
Recombinomics Commentary 17:02
May 19, 2009

A medical examiner will determine if the 16-month-old boy who died shortly after arriving at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens is the second death from swine flu in New York City.

Family members say the boy was turning blue as they rushed him to the hospital.

The above comments on a suspect swine flu fatality in Queens, New York raise additional pandemic concerns. The number of confirmed and suspect cases in Queens has been high (see updated maps leading to more the a dozen school closings, due in part to the high number of students with flu like symptoms, as well as the confirmed swine H1N1 death of an assistant principal.

Yesterday, the suspect toddler developed a fever in the morning, was eating in the afternoon, and was unresponsive by evening, when he was rushed to the hospital and died. The sudden death, coupled with rapid development of cyanosis, are classic symptoms associated with fatal influenza cases in 1918.

In 1918 an H1N1 swine flu recombined with an H1N1 seasonal flu that led to 20-50 million fatalities, as the virus spread world wide and affected approximately 1/3 of the population. That outbreak began as mild disease in the spring and most of the fatalities were associated with outbreaks in the fall of 1918 and 1919. There were multiple waves during the outbreak, raising concerns of a similar scenario in 2009.

An efficiently transmitted swine H1N1 in the human population has not been reported since 1918, Although WHO has not yet raised the pandemic phase from 5 to 6, the sustained transmission in North America, combined with reports of community spread inEurope and Asia leaves little doubt that the 2009 pandemic has begun.

The evolution of the H1N1 is being closely monitored by sequencing labs across the world, and most isolates to date are closely related. However, the presence of avian PB2 raises concerns that the frequency of cases will not decline in the summer in the northern hemisphere, because the avian PB2 is optimal at 41 C, which would lead to efficient transmission in the summer. Moreover, the seasonal flu has the mammalian version of PB2, which has optimal activity at 34 C. However, the swine H1N1 transmitting in the summer hemisphere may acquire E627K, leading to a virus efficiently transmitting in the winter also.

Similarly, swine H1N1 in the southern hemisphere may acquire H274Y, leading to Tamflu resistance, which could complicate treatment of the more severe cases, which may involve previously healthy young adults. Another H1N1 death (44M) was just reported in St. Louis, MO.

The strong parallels between 1918 and 2009 continue to cause concern.

.

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.tribunahispanausa.com/det...p?noticia=7019

Google translation:

Child died in Queens did not have influenza H1N1
05/20/09
The analysis carried out in an infant who died after being hospitalized in New York with respiratory problems are not suffering from swine flu, health officials said the city.

..
Drafting LTH / Agencies

A Health Department statement said the analysis made on samples taken from nasal boy 16 months, Jonathan Zamora Castillo.

Were also sent tissue samples for further analysis at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The results would be ready this week.

The small, parents, died on Monday, May 18 at night at Elmhurst Hospital Center of Queens County. Hospital officials said they had high fever when he arrived.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that the death of the child "is very tragic, beyond what caused it."

Zeferino Zamora, father of the child, confirmed that the baby was placed in emergency but told a local tabloid that the family came to know how the child endermarse. "Everything came from scratch," said the boy's parents grieved while showing a recent photograph of the deceased.

Zamora explained that until Sunday night his son was in excellent health.

The infant's death occurred one day after a deputy school, if I was sick with H1N1 influenza, died on Sunday May 17, becoming the first death linked to the virus in New York City and the sixth in the country.

Mitchell Wiener, who worked at a secondary school in Queens, died on Sunday night, said Andrew Rubin, spokesman for the Flushing Hospital Medical Center. Wiener, who had been hospitalized and connected to an artificial respirator, he was sick almost a week before the school closed its doors on Thursday. It is likely that other complications of the virus have also influenced his death, said Rubin.

Wiener was hired as a substitute teacher in March 1978 and subsequently as a teacher of mathematics, where he worked until 2007. Since then he worked as deputy director in high school, Susan B. Anthony, in the Hollis neighborhood.

School closures

And the death of an infant teacher and have not only complicate the fear of the spread of the virus in the City of New York where, until last Monday, 18 school authorities ordered the closure of 18 schools due to the large number of students have been suffering from symptoms similar to those of the terrible influenza A (H1N1).

Meanwhile, Mayor Bloomberg, and the health authorities of the city, noted that his goal is to help those who are most affected by the flu.

The school counselor in the city, Joel Klein, the president of the teachers' union, Randi Weingarten, who in turn reported are monitoring the schools where students have been absent for flu like symptoms. The United Federation of Teachers in New York has 11 telephone lines in five municipalities of the city to collect information on flu outbreaks, and school closures.

Bloomberg has insisted that all city residents, regardless of insurance coverage or immigration status, should seek treatment before allowing the influenza A is complicated. Emergency services in the city are facing at this time to 50% additional income adults and children twice.

Bloomberg also reported the existence of four confirmed and four probable cases among the prison population in the municipal jail in Rikers Island, located in the River East between Queens and the Bronx. According to the mayor is not possible to evacuate the thousands of prison inmates, but steps are being taken to prevent further contagion.

The heads of the Centers for Disease Control have found that influenza A, although appear to present a less lethal flu season, affects a disproportionate number of children, adolescents and young adults. With high numbers of hospitalizations and colleges concerned. According to a working hypothesis, children may not have the immune protection of other similar virus in adults.

In any case, the specialists in epidemiology from the government insisted that the 5123 confirmed cases and six deaths were certified the tip of a huge iceberg globalized. Although in comparative terms is that seasonal influenza is a factor linked to the deaths of 36,000 people each year in United States and more than 250,000 around the world.


Zeferino Zamora, father of Jonathan Zamora child of 16 months, shows a photo of the baby who died at a hospital in Queens.