Florida: Well-known Miami DJ in intensive care battling a mysterious infection

[Emily]

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2014/01/26/community-support-overwhelming-for-miami-dj-battling-mysterious-illness/

NORTH MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) ? Well-known Miami DJ Mark Leventhal is in intensive care battling a mysterious infection, according to his family.

Leventhal?s sister, Amy Leventhal says her brother experienced back pain and fatigue, but thought it was a ?bad back.?...

 

[NS1]

Re: Florida: Well-known Miami DJ in intensive care battling a mysterious infection

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2014/01/26/community-support-overwhelming-for-miami-dj-battling-mysterious-illness/

Back pain has been variously associated with atypical, rapid-onset Influenza.

 

[Emily]

Re: Florida: Well-known Miami DJ in intensive care battling a mysterious infection

Back pain has been variously associated with atypical, rapid-onset Influenza.

I was wondering about that, too, NS1.

 

[NS1]

Re: Florida: Well-known Miami DJ in intensive care battling a mysterious infection

I was wondering about that, too, NS1.

H5N1 Case #31 Male 28 years Cibitung, Bekasi, West Java Province [FT#513496]

Many tropical fevers and viral fever diseases manifest back pain.

 

[Emily]

Re: Florida: Well-known Miami DJ in intensive care battling a mysterious infection

Still battling his illness...

http://wlrn.org/post/popular-miami-djs-family-pushes-raise-healthcare-funds

DJ Mark Leventhal
8:26 am
Fri January 31, 2014
Popular Miami DJ's Family Pushes To Raise Healthcare Funds

By Bernard Hacker
...
Last week, the popular DJ suddenly fell into a coma after going to Jackson Memorial Hospital with back pain. A cause has not been disclosed. But what's known is Leventhal, like many DJs, does not have health insurance. At 50 years old, he's the father of three children...

Some accounts give the impression of relatively sudden onset, and some suggest an infection that smoldered for some time. I think if this were a known flu strain, it would have been diagnosed, or even a known bacterial pathogen.

But another case reported in the LA flu forum describes back pain as being the first symptom of flu that went very badly:

http://www.ktbs.com/story/24416881/bossier-parish-3rd-grader-dies-possibly-from-the-flu

Dee Davidson, Mills' grandmother, said the little girl complained of her back being sore when she got home from school Tuesday. She said Wednesday the illness got worse. She had a fever, started vomiting and went unconscious for a minute while getting sick. That's when Mills' father called 911.

She passed away that day.

 

[alert]

Re: Florida: Well-known Miami DJ in intensive care battling a mysterious infection

The most recent article above actually says that the cause of his illness has not been disclosed; not that the illness is undiagnosed. His doctors might know very well at this point what is causing his illness.

Back pain and fatigue are just way too general of symptoms to attempt armchair diagnosis. As an extreme example, there was an unidagnosed fatal outbreak in 2007 in Africa (that may have actually been plague or hemorrhagic fever) where back pain was the main symptom reported; the ProMED post with a good discussion was:

http://www.promedmail.org/direct.php?id=ph29369

Not to suggest that any of the diagnoses mentioned in the post above apply here (geography matters!), but it shows the range of infectious options, not to mention possible non-infectious causes for his illness. Notably, the GIDEON source used by the ProMED moderator returned only a 2.4% chance of influenza in that outbreak.

 

[Emily]

Re: Florida: Well-known Miami DJ in intensive care battling a mysterious infection

http://miami.cbslocal.com/video/9771179-community-support-overwhelming-for-miami-dj-battling-mysterious-illness/

Community Support "Overwhelming" For Miami DJ Battling Mysterious Illness
http://miami.cbslocal.com/latest-videos?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=9771179
Well-known Miami DJ Mark Leventhal is in intensive care battling a mysterious infection, according to his family.

 

[Emily]

Re: Florida: Well-known Miami DJ in intensive care battling a mysterious infection

http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/crossfade/2014/02/dj_mark_leventhal_hospitalized_brain_infection_update_miami_2014.php

DJ Mark Leventhal Recovering from Brain Infection, "Starting to Breathe on His Own"
By S. Pajot Wed., Feb. 5 2014 at 1:00 PM
15 Comments
Categories: Local Music, News
It's been two weeks since Mark Leventhal -- a four-decade veteran of the club scene, well-known South Beach DJ, and father of three -- fell "gravely ill," in the words of his sister Amy, with "an infection that is affecting his body and his brain."

Following the onset of this sudden health crisis, Leventhal was hospitalized in the intensive care unit at Jackson North Medical Center. And initially, he was unresponsive.

Now, though, he is showing signs of recovery...

 

[Emily]

Re: Florida: Well-known Miami DJ in intensive care battling a mysterious infection

http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/crossfade/2014/02/dj_mark_leventhal_hospitalized_recovery_miami_2014.php

DJ Mark Leventhal "Is Not Progressing Toward Recovery," According to Sister
By S. Pajot Wed., Feb. 12 2014 at 1:30 PM

DJ Mark Leventhal Has Died: "He Remains in Our Hearts Always"
By S. Pajot Wed., Feb. 19 2014 at 12:45 PM
"We are heavy hearted," writes DJ Mark Leventhal's sister Amy in her most recent update for family, friends, fans, and fellow DJs.

"Mark has been surrounded by love throughout this ordeal and passed away yesterday afternoon with his mom at his side. He brought love into the world and left surrounded by it.
...
In late January, Leventhal, a longtime South Beach fixture and father of three, was hospitalized in the intensive care unit at Jackson North Medical Center after a sudden, terrible infection spread to his brain...