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Source: http://www.missoulian.com/news/local...cc4c002e0.html
Lewis and Clark County resident dies of swine flu; St. Peter's Hospital limits visitors
By EVE BYRON of the Helena Independent Record | Posted: Saturday, October 10, 2009 8:25 am
HELENA - An adult Lewis and Clark County resident died this week after being hospitalized with complications from the H1N1 virus, and St. Peter's Hospital is restricting visitors as the extent of the highly contagious flu becomes clearer.
Mike Henderson with the Lewis and Clark County Health Department confirmed the death on Friday. He said the person had underlying health issues, but declined to release further information. However, he noted that the county has received its first shipment of the H1N1 vaccine, and is distributing it to local doctors.
The death is the second in Montana from complications associated with H1N1. A woman in Roosevelt County, with underlying health issues, died in August.
One person with H1N1 currently is being treated at the hospital, according to St. Peter's spokesperson Peggy Stebbins. She said that no visitors younger than 24 will be allowed at the hospital starting Friday and visitors are limited to two per patient at a time.
"We're also asking if anyone or their family members have flu-like symptoms, a fever, a cough or a runny nose, to not come to the hospital or the emergency room," Stebbins said, adding that those people should instead either see their regular physician or they can be treated at Urgent Care, adjacent to St. Peter's and open every day until 8 p.m.
St. Peter's acknowledges this temporary policy may be difficult for some people.
"We know that some families have no other options, but we also know that some families choose to bring additional children and adults with them," Stebbins said. "St. Peter's is asking them to leave those people home. It's all in the best interest of their health, as well as that of our patients, staff and volunteers."
H1N1 was first detected in people in the United States in April 2009. The virus is spreading from person to person worldwide, similar to the way regular seasonal influenza viruses spread. On June 11, the World Health Organization signaled that a pandemic of H1N1 flu was under way, and by August an estimated 1 million Americans had come down with it.
Severe illnesses and deaths have occurred as a result of illness associated with this virus, although symptoms also may be mild and most people recover without needing medical treatment.
*****
Children seem to be particularly susceptible to H1N1, and in a conference call Friday morning, representatives from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta said that 76 youths, from infants to age 18, have died from complications arising from H1N1. The majority of those had underlying medical conditions, but 20 to 30 percent didn't.
In Montana, 214 cases of H1N1 - also known as the swine flu - were documented between Aug. 30 and Oct. 3, and that number is expected to increase dramatically as cases are confirmed from last week, according to Elton Mosher, a state disease surveillance specialist. That includes 49 cases of H1N1 in Lewis and Clark County, 45 in Cascade County and 42 in Missoula County.
He added that the actual number of H1N1 flu cases probably is much higher than what's been confirmed.
"For every case that's confirmed, there's probably 30 other ones from people who don't seek medical care or whose provider isn't testing for H1N1," Mosher said. "We know H1N1 is widespread throughout the state, so it's kind of pointless to keep testing people over and over, especially since the treatment is the same whether it's H1N1 or you're sick with anything - stay home, wash your hands and don't cough on anyone."
Mosher said H1N1 appears to be hitting people age 5 to 24 the hardest, and Bruce Messinger, Helena school district superintendent, said their absentee numbers appear to confirm that.
Messinger noted that while students miss school for a wide range of reasons, some schools are experiencing about double the absentee rates from the same time last year. For example, on Oct. 7, 2008, 381 of the district's 8,000 kindergarten through 12th-grade students were absent. On that date this year, 673 students weren't at school.
"So it's not quite but close to 300 more students were gone last Wednesday compared to a year ago," Messinger said on Friday. "You can probably say with some confidence that most of those 300 are the result of an illness."
He noted that on Sept. 30, 750 students were not in school, compared to 319 the previous year.
Anaconda schools were closed on Friday, after experiencing a 25 percent absenteeism rate.
*****
In Helena, Rossiter Elementary School, C.R. Anderson Middle School and Capital High School seem to be the hardest hit, with absenteeism ranging around 11 percent. On Wednesday, that included 55 of the 500 Rossiter students; 115 of the 1,050 C.R. Anderson students; and 154 of the 1,300 students who attend Capital High School.
Debbie Gustafson's 15-year-old son is one of those students. He called her from Capital High last Friday, saying he didn't feel well. His temperature was close to 103 degrees, so she took him to Urgent Care. A flu test came back negative, but the doctor told Gustafson the test is only about 50 percent accurate.
"I said 'What about testing for swine flu,' because I knew a perfectly healthy 13-year-old girl in Texas had died from it. But they said the test wasn't part of their protocol and they don't treat healthy people any differently if they have the swine flu," Gustafson said.
Her son still had a cough, sore throat, aches, pains and high fever the next day, so she took him to a different doctor who administered the H1N1 tests. She was told on Monday it was negative, but was called back on Tuesday with the news that her son had a confirmed case of H1N1.
The seemingly contradictory information of whether to test or not to test, and whether he had H1N1 or not, frustrated Gustafson, whose son ended up missing five days of school.
"I was mad because they're saying this swine flu is a big thing, but then I'm being told it's not their protocol to test for it," she said, adding that if people look at the CDC's web site, Montana and Nevada haven't reported any confirmed cases.
*****
Mosher said the discrepancy in reporting is that the CDC required states to reset their counts as of Aug. 30, and Montana hasn't submitted its information to the national organization yet.
Stebbins also noted that the manufacturer of the rapid tests can only guarantee that they're effective in detecting H1N1 10 to 70 percent of the time, and that in a case like Gustafson's, the positive confirmation probably came after the sample was sent to the state for further tests.
Since Oct. 1, St. Peter's laboratory has processed 94 rapid tests, and confirmed 37 samples with the H1N1 virus. They're processing anywhere from five to 10 tests daily.
Henderson added that the county health department's protocol typically calls for H1N1 testing only in high risk groups. If it's detected, those patients can be given drugs like Tamiflu, which can lessen the flu's duration and symptoms.
He said the county received 500 doses of the H1N1 vaccine on Thursday and has distributed it to doctors' offices to be administered first to those at high risk.
"Target groups that have been identified include people who care for infants younger than six months of age, because those infants can't be vaccinated; pregnant women; children with special health care needs; and health care workers," Henderson said. "Children ages six months to 4 years old also are in the priority group, as are children under 19 with special needs."
The county health department should continue to get weekly shipments of the vaccine in increasing numbers, and it will then be available to the general public.
Lewis and Clark County resident dies of swine flu; St. Peter's Hospital limits visitors
By EVE BYRON of the Helena Independent Record | Posted: Saturday, October 10, 2009 8:25 am
HELENA - An adult Lewis and Clark County resident died this week after being hospitalized with complications from the H1N1 virus, and St. Peter's Hospital is restricting visitors as the extent of the highly contagious flu becomes clearer.
Mike Henderson with the Lewis and Clark County Health Department confirmed the death on Friday. He said the person had underlying health issues, but declined to release further information. However, he noted that the county has received its first shipment of the H1N1 vaccine, and is distributing it to local doctors.
The death is the second in Montana from complications associated with H1N1. A woman in Roosevelt County, with underlying health issues, died in August.
One person with H1N1 currently is being treated at the hospital, according to St. Peter's spokesperson Peggy Stebbins. She said that no visitors younger than 24 will be allowed at the hospital starting Friday and visitors are limited to two per patient at a time.
"We're also asking if anyone or their family members have flu-like symptoms, a fever, a cough or a runny nose, to not come to the hospital or the emergency room," Stebbins said, adding that those people should instead either see their regular physician or they can be treated at Urgent Care, adjacent to St. Peter's and open every day until 8 p.m.
St. Peter's acknowledges this temporary policy may be difficult for some people.
"We know that some families have no other options, but we also know that some families choose to bring additional children and adults with them," Stebbins said. "St. Peter's is asking them to leave those people home. It's all in the best interest of their health, as well as that of our patients, staff and volunteers."
H1N1 was first detected in people in the United States in April 2009. The virus is spreading from person to person worldwide, similar to the way regular seasonal influenza viruses spread. On June 11, the World Health Organization signaled that a pandemic of H1N1 flu was under way, and by August an estimated 1 million Americans had come down with it.
Severe illnesses and deaths have occurred as a result of illness associated with this virus, although symptoms also may be mild and most people recover without needing medical treatment.
*****
Children seem to be particularly susceptible to H1N1, and in a conference call Friday morning, representatives from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta said that 76 youths, from infants to age 18, have died from complications arising from H1N1. The majority of those had underlying medical conditions, but 20 to 30 percent didn't.
In Montana, 214 cases of H1N1 - also known as the swine flu - were documented between Aug. 30 and Oct. 3, and that number is expected to increase dramatically as cases are confirmed from last week, according to Elton Mosher, a state disease surveillance specialist. That includes 49 cases of H1N1 in Lewis and Clark County, 45 in Cascade County and 42 in Missoula County.
He added that the actual number of H1N1 flu cases probably is much higher than what's been confirmed.
"For every case that's confirmed, there's probably 30 other ones from people who don't seek medical care or whose provider isn't testing for H1N1," Mosher said. "We know H1N1 is widespread throughout the state, so it's kind of pointless to keep testing people over and over, especially since the treatment is the same whether it's H1N1 or you're sick with anything - stay home, wash your hands and don't cough on anyone."
Mosher said H1N1 appears to be hitting people age 5 to 24 the hardest, and Bruce Messinger, Helena school district superintendent, said their absentee numbers appear to confirm that.
Messinger noted that while students miss school for a wide range of reasons, some schools are experiencing about double the absentee rates from the same time last year. For example, on Oct. 7, 2008, 381 of the district's 8,000 kindergarten through 12th-grade students were absent. On that date this year, 673 students weren't at school.
"So it's not quite but close to 300 more students were gone last Wednesday compared to a year ago," Messinger said on Friday. "You can probably say with some confidence that most of those 300 are the result of an illness."
He noted that on Sept. 30, 750 students were not in school, compared to 319 the previous year.
Anaconda schools were closed on Friday, after experiencing a 25 percent absenteeism rate.
*****
In Helena, Rossiter Elementary School, C.R. Anderson Middle School and Capital High School seem to be the hardest hit, with absenteeism ranging around 11 percent. On Wednesday, that included 55 of the 500 Rossiter students; 115 of the 1,050 C.R. Anderson students; and 154 of the 1,300 students who attend Capital High School.
Debbie Gustafson's 15-year-old son is one of those students. He called her from Capital High last Friday, saying he didn't feel well. His temperature was close to 103 degrees, so she took him to Urgent Care. A flu test came back negative, but the doctor told Gustafson the test is only about 50 percent accurate.
"I said 'What about testing for swine flu,' because I knew a perfectly healthy 13-year-old girl in Texas had died from it. But they said the test wasn't part of their protocol and they don't treat healthy people any differently if they have the swine flu," Gustafson said.
Her son still had a cough, sore throat, aches, pains and high fever the next day, so she took him to a different doctor who administered the H1N1 tests. She was told on Monday it was negative, but was called back on Tuesday with the news that her son had a confirmed case of H1N1.
The seemingly contradictory information of whether to test or not to test, and whether he had H1N1 or not, frustrated Gustafson, whose son ended up missing five days of school.
"I was mad because they're saying this swine flu is a big thing, but then I'm being told it's not their protocol to test for it," she said, adding that if people look at the CDC's web site, Montana and Nevada haven't reported any confirmed cases.
*****
Mosher said the discrepancy in reporting is that the CDC required states to reset their counts as of Aug. 30, and Montana hasn't submitted its information to the national organization yet.
Stebbins also noted that the manufacturer of the rapid tests can only guarantee that they're effective in detecting H1N1 10 to 70 percent of the time, and that in a case like Gustafson's, the positive confirmation probably came after the sample was sent to the state for further tests.
Since Oct. 1, St. Peter's laboratory has processed 94 rapid tests, and confirmed 37 samples with the H1N1 virus. They're processing anywhere from five to 10 tests daily.
Henderson added that the county health department's protocol typically calls for H1N1 testing only in high risk groups. If it's detected, those patients can be given drugs like Tamiflu, which can lessen the flu's duration and symptoms.
He said the county received 500 doses of the H1N1 vaccine on Thursday and has distributed it to doctors' offices to be administered first to those at high risk.
"Target groups that have been identified include people who care for infants younger than six months of age, because those infants can't be vaccinated; pregnant women; children with special health care needs; and health care workers," Henderson said. "Children ages six months to 4 years old also are in the priority group, as are children under 19 with special needs."
The county health department should continue to get weekly shipments of the vaccine in increasing numbers, and it will then be available to the general public.