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CDC Updates on Swine Flu

2009-05-05T11:25:00.000-07:00

The Swine Flu case number is continuing to grow daily, it seems like. When all of this first began happening, some of the media gave this picture that it was going to be like that movie that came out several years ago called 28 Days Later where a random, awful virus killed everyone on the planet almost within 28 days of the first outbreak of it. While most of the planet is not dead, and most of the planet does not have swine flu, unfortunately there are more cases and more deaths on record.

"We know a great deal about this virus, but I would caution you all that we still have much to learn," she said. "The flu virus is always unpredictable, and we don't know what this virus will do. We expect to see to see more cases, more hospitalizations and, unfortunately, more deaths."

As of yesterday, there are about 400 confirmed cases of swine flu in 38 states across the U.S. There was one detail that caught me off guard a little bit- merely 24 hours ago, there were only 286 confirmed cases in the U.S.

Today, the second U.S. death from swine flu occurred. The 33-year old Texas woman was pregnant when she was hospitalizaed in April-- she gave birth via C-section and died. This is immensely tragic. It breaks my heart, actually. This poor woman had just given birth to a child; she should be healthy, and rejoicing with her family right now. Instead, she's dead from a strange strain of flu virus. This tragedy has made me nervous to see how the rest of this bout with swine flu plays out. The past few days, I've been hearing people say "oh it's been played up, it's really not going to be that bad." and "it's almost over, don't worry about it." This woman is dead. What if this really does progress and kill more people?......

Employers have been advised to be on high alert due to the swine flu. There are all kinds of legal issues that deal with the swine flu that employers have been advised about.

On the upside, schools in Texas, as well as around the country, are no longer being advised to stay closed due to the swine flu. Thousands of Houston kids are back in class as of yesterday and today, which is good news for parents because they can now return to some sense of normalcy.

Good signs.. and bad signs.. what will happen next?

Dallas County Flu Cases Lack Mexico Connection

2009-04-30T11:01:00.000-07:00

The metroplex is concerned and confused by the fact that the cases of swine flu that have been reported around Dallas county seemingly have no connection to Mexico, like the other cases reported around the country.

Most puzzling to local officials is that the initial flu cases here have no obvious connection to the Mexico outbreak, as do other cases around the country. As of Wednesday, three cases had been confirmed in Dallas County and an additional 11 cases were considered probable, meaning they must be confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the metroplex, the ages of people who have gotten swine flu range from very young to very elderly. There are some who are exposed to public school systems and tons of other students, and there are some who haven't entered the front doors of a public school in 50 years. None of the sick have traveled to or from Mexico, nor have they had realized contact with anyone who has recently.

Around the country, there have been multiple reports of probable cases of swine flu. Several states have had confirmed cases of swine flu. Thus far, the 22-month-old baby from Mexico that died in Houston earlier this week has been the only fatality. I want to be able to put a number with amount of cases, but it seems like it's increasing every couple of hours. Earlier today I read an article saying there were just over 100 cases world wide -- Now, they're saying it has reached 250.

The swine flu has gained a new name: the pandemic flu. I don't know about you, but "pandemic flu" makes me a little more nervous than hearing "swine flu".

My roommate's mom works in conjunction with the CDC (center for disease control) and she called us yesterday to tell us some stuff she was told: Wash your hands often throughout the day. Try not to touch your face, nose, or mouth frequently. If you cough, make sure you cover it up. Get plenty of rest, drink lots of water, and get some excercise every day. Basically, just take care of yourself and be aware of things like covering your mouth and washing your hands.

A lot of schools have been closed around the country due to confirmed cases of the swine flu, or as a simple precaution. Approximatly 130,000 Texas students are out of school right now, and some have predicted the schools won't open again for a week or two. That is inconvenient for students because isn't it around TAKS time? I wonder how the state plans to deal with that. I mean, obviously the health and safety of the kids is more important... but still. I know if I was back in middle school, and they made me stay longer in school to make up TAKS I would have been SO ticked. Give and take, I suppose. Around the country, lots of schools have closed as well.

It's going to be interesting to see what happens. I mean, at this point.. all we can really do is wait. We can wash our hands, and keep our kids home from school.. but let's face it. The entire world cannot stop- meaning people can't stop going to work every day, and college students / professors can't stop going to classes, etc. I just hope and pray it doesn't get as bad as some are saying it will. As tragic as that child's death in Houston was, I hope it's the only one.

Mexican Toddler in U.S. Dies from Swine Flu

2009-04-29T13:25:00.000-07:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/health/30flu.html?ref=health

"A Mexican toddler who came to the United States with his family to visit relatives in Texas has died in Houston of the swine flu, Texas officials said Wednesday, even as the number of confirmed cases continued to rise in the United States and Europe without additional reports of fatalities."

It's interesting to me how every year, there seems to be some new strange/rare strain of flu that comes along out of no where that actually kills people! In the case of this story above, even a child. My whole life, all I've heard is just take the flu shot and there won't be anything to worry about. Now, there are so many questions. With everything else going on right now in the country, it sucks that this is now a part of all the worrying. My parents live in Houston.. I live close to Houston.. it's just strange to think that any of us could've been exposed by sitting next to someone coughing and not even realize it. Coughing is so common- I don't walk on the other side of the sidewalk or run the opposite way or wash my hands immediately just because someone coughed. Apparently, however, that's what should be happening right now. We'll have to wait and see how this one progresses. I pray that no one else falls victim to this disease.