MN: Health Dept. investigates family's flu deaths

[wdcare]

MNfl: Health department investigates Itasca County family?s flu deaths

Jane Brissett Duluth News Tribune
Published Saturday, March 22, 2008

Medical investigators probably will learn next week whether one critically ill and two deceased members of an Itasca County family were sickened by the influenza virus or something else.

Although it?s a devastating blow to the family and such circumstances are rare, a Minnesota Department of Health spokesman said there is no reason to believe it is anything more than seasonal influenza that hit the family.

The state health department is conducting laboratory tests to determine whether the influenza-like virus is the cause and what type it was, as well as whether the victims developed secondary bacterial infections, spokesman Buddy Ferguson said.

The father and son had previously been healthy, Ferguson said. Neither he nor Baich knew whether the family members had received influenza vaccinations.

Baich said [the adult son] was the first to become ill and appeared to have a mild to moderate case of influenza. After a couple of days he became ?really sick? and was taken to Bigfork Valley Hospital, where he died within hours.

His father followed the same course of illness for a couple of days, but suddenly became very ill. ?When his father became ill with similar symptoms, they decided to take him to Duluth,? Baich said. He was taken by ambulance and it is unclear whether he died en route or in the hospital emergency room, the coroner said.

Baich did not take care of the men while they were ill, he said. He said he didn?t know whether the parents and son had recently spent time together, but the son did live in a separate home...

Both ambulance and hospital personnel have expressed concern about exposure, but Baich said he reassured them that they took the appropriate precautions.

Baich, who also practices medicine in Itasca County, said he has not seen an unusual number of influenza cases this season, nor have they been especially severe. ?I have seen people die of influenza in the past, but usually it comes on more slowly,? he said.

Complete article here:

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/articles/index.cfm?id=62896&section=None

[HenryN]

Re: MN: Health Dept. investigates family's flu deaths

Flu-like illness kills 2 Minnesota family members

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State health experts are investigating two possible flu deaths in a northern Minnesota family.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is currently investigating two deaths from an influenza-like illness in members of the same northern Minnesota family.

The family members who died were between the ages of 40 and 70.

MDH officials are investigating whether the two individuals who died had a secondary bacterial infection that contributed to their deaths. They emphasized that there is no reason to conclude that the deaths were caused by an unusual strain of the influenza virus.

"This is a devastating situation for this family," said Dr. Ruth Lynfield, State Epidemiologist. "We should keep in mind that influenza can be a serious, potentially fatal health threat. Our investigation is continuing.

"Influenza is highly contagious, so it can spread easily within families," Lynfield said. "Unfortunately, secondary infections, or some other serious complication, can also occur in some cases. The best thing you can do to protect yourself is to get vaccinated against influenza, and there's still time to do that. Influenza season in Minnesota can last until late April."

In addition to getting vaccinated, people can also take a number of other steps to protect themselves and reduce the spread of the influenza virus. Those steps include washing your hands frequently, staying home when you're ill, and covering your nose and mouth with a sleeve or a paper tissue when you cough or sneeze.

Additional information about influenza - and where to find a flu shot clinic - is available on the MDH Web site at www.mdhflu.com.

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=502180

[HenryN]

Re: MN: Health Dept. investigates family's flu deaths

Flu-like illness kills Minnesota father, son

The victims' wife and mother is in intensive care in a Duluth hospital. A state health official said the men had Type B strain.
By SARAH LEMAGIE and MAURA LERNER, Star Tribune
Last update: March 20, 2008 - 11:46 PM
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A father and his adult son from north-central Minnesota died this week from complications of an "influenza-like illness," health officials said Thursday.
The Minnesota Health Department announced that two people had died, but provided no details. But Itasca County coroner Dr. Michael Baich confirmed information from a family friend that the victims were Danny Adams Sr., 64, of Dora Lake, in the Chippewa National Forest northwest of Grand Rapids, Minn., and his son, Danny (Barney) Adams Jr., 45, of nearby Spring Lake.
Saliva samples indicated that both men, who were otherwise healthy, had the Type B strain of influenza, Baich said.
However, he cautioned that health officials "are not certain that the flu was the cause of death; they may have died of a secondary condition such as a staph infection."
Dr. Roberta Zimmerman, a Grand Rapids pathologist, will conduct the younger Adams' autopsy this week, Baich said.
An autopsy on Danny Adams Sr. is pending and may take place in St. Louis County, he said.
Meanwhile, the victims' wife and mother, LaDonna Adams, 62, was in intensive care in a Duluth hospital late Thursday, Baich said. He did not have further information on her condition.
The Adamses will be much missed in their small rural communities, said Jim Smith of Dora Lake, who knew both men well.
Dan Adams Sr. was the longtime pastor of Good News Bible Church in Dora Lake, while his son, the "most liked guy in town," owned Barney's on the Bowstring Resort in Spring Lake, Smith said.
The younger Adams died Sunday afternoon at Bigfork Valley Hospital, according to an obituary on the website of the Grand Rapids Herald Review. His funeral will be held at 2 p.m. today in Dora Lake. His father died Wednesday at a Duluth hospital; funeral arrangements for him are pending.
State health officials said they took the unusual step of publicizing the deaths despite an incomplete investigation because word was spreading and causing concern in the family's community.
Some Dora Lake residents are worried about catching the illness that killed the pair, Smith said. Dan Adams Sr. appeared weak and had a sore throat when he last preached in church, Smith added, but took care not to shake hands with anyone after the service.
"Something like this, you don't know where it's going to pop up," Smith said.
State epidemiologist Dr. Ruth Lynfield said, "This is a devastating situation for this family.
"We should keep in mind that influenza can be a serious, potentially fatal health threat," Lynfield said. "Influenza is highly contagious, so it can spread easily within families."
Asked about community fears, Baich said, "There is no reason to panic," stressing that flu deaths in otherwise healthy individuals are extremely rare. Family members and medical workers who came in contact with the Adamses are being closely monitored for symptoms, he said.
Baich said it was not known if the Adamses had been vaccinated for the flu, but even if they were, the vaccine does not protect people against Type B.
Buddy Ferguson, a spokesman for the state Health Department, noted that several hundred Minnesotans die of complications of the flu every year. Many are elderly or have other underlying conditions, such as asthma, that make them especially vulnerable.
The department also has reported that two girls, ages 5 and 12, have died of complications from the flu this year.
The Health Department's website, www.mdhflu.com, has information about flu, including how to find flu shot clinics.
Staff writers Pamela Miller and Paul Walsh contributed to this report.
slemagie@startribune.com • 612-673-7557 mlerner@startribune.com • 612-673-7384

http://www.startribune.com/science/16860946.html

[Commonground]

Re: MN: Health Dept. investigates family's flu deaths

Weekly Influenza Activity - Minnesota Department of Health

http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/diseases/flu/stats/index.html

Influenza Viral Culture Testing Data



[What I find interesting in the above chart is that all the specimens have been typed. All of them.

Rapid Influenza Testing Data

[Malcolm]

MN confirms that two deaths in family were flu-related

http://www.startribune.com/local/17071936.html

State confirms that two deaths in family were flu-related

Last update: March 27, 2008 - 11:47 PM


State health officials have confirmed that two members of a northern Minnesota family had influenza when they died suddenly last week and that an underlying staph infection contributed to at least one of the deaths.

The Rev. Danny Adams, 64, of Dora Lake, Minn. died on March 19, just three days after the death of his son, Danny (Barney) Adams Jr., 39. On Thursday, the Minnesota Department of Health said lab tests had confirmed that both victims had influenza Type B.

"We have also determined that a staphylococcus aureus also played a role in one of the deaths," said Buddy Ferguson, a Health Department spokesman. Staph was found in the second patient, but without an autopsy health officials were unable to say what role it might have played in the death. When combined with influenza, staph infections can cause death by releasing toxins into the body.

But the Health Department was "not able to conclude" whether staph was involved in the other death, Ferguson said. Because of confidentiality laws, the department does not identify the victims by name. The Adamses were identified by friends and relatives.

MAURA LERNER