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Source: http://www.huntingtonnews.net/local/...lswineflu.html
Oct. 4, 2009
Third Possible H1N1 Death in Cabell
Second Victim Health Care Provider; American Federation of Teachers Urges CDC Consider Respirators, not Masks, for Health Care Workers
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) ? Two media sources are reporting as of midnight Saturday, Oct. 3 that the county has recorded a third ?possible? swine flu death.
The sources quote Dr. Harry Tweel, director of the Cabell Huntington Health Department, as stating ?the screening test suggests ? 2009 H1N1 flu.?
On Friday, Oct. 2, reports confirmed that Amy Michelle Scott, 37, a Chesapeake, Ohio resident and Pro Nursing Huntington employee, passed away from swine flu.
Michael Bloomfield, 51, a nurse in the ER at St. Mary?s Hospital died at the hospital of complications from the flu. He had also been a piano/keyboard player with the Gospel Harmony Boys.
CDC News Conference Friday Connected H1N1 and Pneumonia
According to an interview with her sister released by WSAZ, Ms. Scott had been treated at two local health care treatment centers, before her symptoms worsened and on Sunday St. Mary?s found she tested flu positive and sent her home. Two days later, her lungs filled with fluid resulted in her admission to the hospital?s intensive care unit.
Having your lungs fill with fluid is one symptom of pneumonia.
During an Oct. 1 news conference at the CDC in Atlanta, Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Disease, reported that stated that bacterial pneumonia was present in one-third of 77 fatal H1N! patients.
?The good news is the leading bacteria was streptococcus pneumonia, and we have a vaccine for that. Adults are recommended to receive the pneumococcal vaccine if they have chronic medical conditions, like asthma, diabetes, chronic heart disease, chronic lung disease, immunodepression and so forth,? the Immunization and Respiratory director explained.
On Friday, Oct. 2, the CDC reported that 443 people had died of influenza and pneumonia-associated complications in the last week (the previous week?s total was 572) . Nearly 1,400 people have died of these complications in September. The latest statistics from the CDC state that 6,092 people were admitted last week to hospitals (the previous week?s total was 10,082) for all subtypes of influenza.
The L.A. Times reported in a June article that 88 health care workers had at that time contracted the virus. The CDC said about half of them ?caught it on the job.? The article went on to state that the relationship worried the CDC.
?Infected nurses, doctors and others could transmit the virus to debilitated patients before their own symptoms become apparent. Already-ill patients would be more likely to develop life-threatening side effects from the flu,? the Times article stated. http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jun...ence/sci-flu19
When published in June, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report studied 48 cases that occurred from the beginning of April to May 13, and concluded that "probably half were related to the healthcare setting," said Dr. Michael Bell of the CDC's Center for Preparedness, Detection & Control of Infectious Diseases.
At that time the study cautioned that H1N1 patients ?need to be identified at the front door of the hospital? so that workers will know they should take preventive measures.
A September 3 news release by the National Academy of Science recommended that healthcare workers wear a N95 respirator, not simply a mask. The report quoted, Kenneth Shine, executive vice chancellor of health affairs University of Texas, Austin, and former president of the Institute of Medicine: ?Based on what we currently know about influenza, well-fitted N95 respirators offer health care workers the best protection against inhalation of viral particles. But there is a lot we still don't know about these viruses, and it would be a mistake for anyone to rely on respirators alone as some sort of magic shield. Health care organizations and their employees should establish and practice a number of strategies to guard against infection, such as innovative triage processes, handwashing, disinfection, gloves, vaccination, and antiviral drug use."
The Institute of Medicine was asked to evaluate personal protective equipment designed to guard against respiratory infection specifically, and therefore the committee focused on the efficacy of medical masks and respirators. Studies have shown that inhalation of airborne viruses is a likely route of flu infection, supporting the use of respiratory protection during an outbreak even though it is not clear whether airborne transmission is the sole or main way the disease spreads.
N95 respirators and medical masks cover the nose and mouth. Although similar in appearance, medical masks fit loosely on wearers' faces, and respirators are designed to form a tight seal against the wearer's skin. If properly fitted and worn correctly, N95 respirators filter out at least 95 percent of particles as small as 0.3 micrometers, which is smaller than influenza viruses, the report notes.
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS REQUESTS BETTER HEALTH CARE WORKER PROTECTION
As school attendance has been impacted by the H1N1 spread, the American Federation of Teachers in a September 10 letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, asked that frontline healthcare workers receive appropriate protective equipment to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus, and recommended a federal standard for comprehensive pandemic influenza plans.
The AFT supported the need for respirators, not surgical masks, for workers:
"Those healthcare workers directly interacting with symptomatic individuals must be supplied with fit-tested respirators, and this must apply in hospitals, schools, homes and clinics," Weingarten wrote. "The information coming from all federal agencies must be clear and consistent, and should be mirrored in information from state agencies, as well." The AFT represents nurses and other healthcare workers in schools, hospitals and other healthcare facilities.?
NEW YORK WORKERS PROTEST FORCED IMMUNIZATION
Based on a WCBS report, some New York health care workers have ?revolted? and staged an Albany rally that ?no forced shots? should be required. Other signs said, ?the state doesn?t own my body.?
"I don't even tend to the sick. I am in the nutrition field. They are telling me I must get the shot because I work in a health clinic setting," said Paula Small, a NY Women, Infants and Children health care worker.
Small said she will refuse, worried the vaccine is untested and unproven, leaving her vulnerable. In 1976, there were some deaths associated with a swine flu vaccination.
Still, a Sept. 30 article in Medical News Today indicated that physicians and health care workers are on the top of the list for the first immunizations.
"We can't have people getting sick with nobody to care for them, so we have to do what we can to keep health care professionals well and on the job," says Ed Sherwood, MD, chair of the Texas Medical Association (TMA) Committee on Infectious Diseases and a member of TMA's Be Wise - Immunize Advisory Panel. "And of course we have to ensure our health care workers are not transmitting disease and making a challenging problem even worse.
HEALTH CARE AND MRSA
At the Oct. 1 CDC news conference, Michelle Merrill from the Hospital Employee Health Newsletter, inquired ?if health care workers are at greater risk because of the prevalence of MRSA in hospitals and their potential exposure. And I also wanted to find out if you know anything about health care worker infection with H1N1, whether it's community based or hospital acquired..?
Dr. Schuchat responded that some acquisitions are ?clearly from the community? and some of it ?may have been from co-workers in the hospital.
?It's really unclear how much of that transmission there was. We know MRSA is a big problem. I don't know whether health care workers are at greater risk of a MRSA complicating their influenza. But I do know there are a lot health care workers can do. There are priorities for the seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccine. We strongly urge health care workers to be vaccinated.?
Asked whether respirators will be recommended for workers, Dr. Schuchat stated: ? Protecting health care workers is really important to us. And as you know, there's been a process to evaluate the scientific data, the supply, the feasibility, all of those issues, how to best protect health care workers against flu, in particular against the H1N1 influenza virus. We are in the process of updating those guidance?s, and we expect them pretty soon. I don't have an exact date, though.?
Oct. 4, 2009
Third Possible H1N1 Death in Cabell
Second Victim Health Care Provider; American Federation of Teachers Urges CDC Consider Respirators, not Masks, for Health Care Workers
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) ? Two media sources are reporting as of midnight Saturday, Oct. 3 that the county has recorded a third ?possible? swine flu death.
The sources quote Dr. Harry Tweel, director of the Cabell Huntington Health Department, as stating ?the screening test suggests ? 2009 H1N1 flu.?
On Friday, Oct. 2, reports confirmed that Amy Michelle Scott, 37, a Chesapeake, Ohio resident and Pro Nursing Huntington employee, passed away from swine flu.
Michael Bloomfield, 51, a nurse in the ER at St. Mary?s Hospital died at the hospital of complications from the flu. He had also been a piano/keyboard player with the Gospel Harmony Boys.
CDC News Conference Friday Connected H1N1 and Pneumonia
According to an interview with her sister released by WSAZ, Ms. Scott had been treated at two local health care treatment centers, before her symptoms worsened and on Sunday St. Mary?s found she tested flu positive and sent her home. Two days later, her lungs filled with fluid resulted in her admission to the hospital?s intensive care unit.
Having your lungs fill with fluid is one symptom of pneumonia.
During an Oct. 1 news conference at the CDC in Atlanta, Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Disease, reported that stated that bacterial pneumonia was present in one-third of 77 fatal H1N! patients.
?The good news is the leading bacteria was streptococcus pneumonia, and we have a vaccine for that. Adults are recommended to receive the pneumococcal vaccine if they have chronic medical conditions, like asthma, diabetes, chronic heart disease, chronic lung disease, immunodepression and so forth,? the Immunization and Respiratory director explained.
On Friday, Oct. 2, the CDC reported that 443 people had died of influenza and pneumonia-associated complications in the last week (the previous week?s total was 572) . Nearly 1,400 people have died of these complications in September. The latest statistics from the CDC state that 6,092 people were admitted last week to hospitals (the previous week?s total was 10,082) for all subtypes of influenza.
The L.A. Times reported in a June article that 88 health care workers had at that time contracted the virus. The CDC said about half of them ?caught it on the job.? The article went on to state that the relationship worried the CDC.
?Infected nurses, doctors and others could transmit the virus to debilitated patients before their own symptoms become apparent. Already-ill patients would be more likely to develop life-threatening side effects from the flu,? the Times article stated. http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jun...ence/sci-flu19
When published in June, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report studied 48 cases that occurred from the beginning of April to May 13, and concluded that "probably half were related to the healthcare setting," said Dr. Michael Bell of the CDC's Center for Preparedness, Detection & Control of Infectious Diseases.
At that time the study cautioned that H1N1 patients ?need to be identified at the front door of the hospital? so that workers will know they should take preventive measures.
A September 3 news release by the National Academy of Science recommended that healthcare workers wear a N95 respirator, not simply a mask. The report quoted, Kenneth Shine, executive vice chancellor of health affairs University of Texas, Austin, and former president of the Institute of Medicine: ?Based on what we currently know about influenza, well-fitted N95 respirators offer health care workers the best protection against inhalation of viral particles. But there is a lot we still don't know about these viruses, and it would be a mistake for anyone to rely on respirators alone as some sort of magic shield. Health care organizations and their employees should establish and practice a number of strategies to guard against infection, such as innovative triage processes, handwashing, disinfection, gloves, vaccination, and antiviral drug use."
The Institute of Medicine was asked to evaluate personal protective equipment designed to guard against respiratory infection specifically, and therefore the committee focused on the efficacy of medical masks and respirators. Studies have shown that inhalation of airborne viruses is a likely route of flu infection, supporting the use of respiratory protection during an outbreak even though it is not clear whether airborne transmission is the sole or main way the disease spreads.
N95 respirators and medical masks cover the nose and mouth. Although similar in appearance, medical masks fit loosely on wearers' faces, and respirators are designed to form a tight seal against the wearer's skin. If properly fitted and worn correctly, N95 respirators filter out at least 95 percent of particles as small as 0.3 micrometers, which is smaller than influenza viruses, the report notes.
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS REQUESTS BETTER HEALTH CARE WORKER PROTECTION
As school attendance has been impacted by the H1N1 spread, the American Federation of Teachers in a September 10 letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, asked that frontline healthcare workers receive appropriate protective equipment to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus, and recommended a federal standard for comprehensive pandemic influenza plans.
The AFT supported the need for respirators, not surgical masks, for workers:
"Those healthcare workers directly interacting with symptomatic individuals must be supplied with fit-tested respirators, and this must apply in hospitals, schools, homes and clinics," Weingarten wrote. "The information coming from all federal agencies must be clear and consistent, and should be mirrored in information from state agencies, as well." The AFT represents nurses and other healthcare workers in schools, hospitals and other healthcare facilities.?
NEW YORK WORKERS PROTEST FORCED IMMUNIZATION
Based on a WCBS report, some New York health care workers have ?revolted? and staged an Albany rally that ?no forced shots? should be required. Other signs said, ?the state doesn?t own my body.?
"I don't even tend to the sick. I am in the nutrition field. They are telling me I must get the shot because I work in a health clinic setting," said Paula Small, a NY Women, Infants and Children health care worker.
Small said she will refuse, worried the vaccine is untested and unproven, leaving her vulnerable. In 1976, there were some deaths associated with a swine flu vaccination.
Still, a Sept. 30 article in Medical News Today indicated that physicians and health care workers are on the top of the list for the first immunizations.
"We can't have people getting sick with nobody to care for them, so we have to do what we can to keep health care professionals well and on the job," says Ed Sherwood, MD, chair of the Texas Medical Association (TMA) Committee on Infectious Diseases and a member of TMA's Be Wise - Immunize Advisory Panel. "And of course we have to ensure our health care workers are not transmitting disease and making a challenging problem even worse.
HEALTH CARE AND MRSA
At the Oct. 1 CDC news conference, Michelle Merrill from the Hospital Employee Health Newsletter, inquired ?if health care workers are at greater risk because of the prevalence of MRSA in hospitals and their potential exposure. And I also wanted to find out if you know anything about health care worker infection with H1N1, whether it's community based or hospital acquired..?
Dr. Schuchat responded that some acquisitions are ?clearly from the community? and some of it ?may have been from co-workers in the hospital.
?It's really unclear how much of that transmission there was. We know MRSA is a big problem. I don't know whether health care workers are at greater risk of a MRSA complicating their influenza. But I do know there are a lot health care workers can do. There are priorities for the seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccine. We strongly urge health care workers to be vaccinated.?
Asked whether respirators will be recommended for workers, Dr. Schuchat stated: ? Protecting health care workers is really important to us. And as you know, there's been a process to evaluate the scientific data, the supply, the feasibility, all of those issues, how to best protect health care workers against flu, in particular against the H1N1 influenza virus. We are in the process of updating those guidance?s, and we expect them pretty soon. I don't have an exact date, though.?
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