The Flu is Killing Up to 4,000 Americans a Week

[RKP5637]

Stay Safe, lots of hand washing, etc.

http://fortune.com/2018/02/10/american-flu-deaths/

The amount of influenza ravaging the U.S. this year rivals levels normally seen when an altogether new virus emerges, decimating a vulnerable population that hasn’t had a chance to develop any defenses.

It’s an unexpected phenomenon that public health experts are still trying to decode.

The levels of influenza-like illnesses being reported now are as high as the peak of the swine flu epidemic in 2009, and exceed the last severe seasonal flu outbreak in 2003 when a new strain started circulating, said Anne Schuchat, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s acting director. Swine flu, which swept the globe in 2009 and 2010, sickened 60.8 million Americans, hospitalized 274,304 and killed 12,469, according to CDC data. Deaths from the current outbreak will likely far outstrip those of the 2009-2010 season.

“This is a difficult season, and we can’t predict how much longer the severe season will last,” she said. “I wish there was better news, but everything we are looking at is bad news.”

The primary type of influenza this year hasn’t changed enough from previous seasons to be considered a novel strain, Schuchat said. The agency’s virologists are studying it to determine if there are any other explanations for why it’s been so hard-hitting.

It gets worse. The death toll in future weeks is expected to grow even higher because flu activity is still rising—and the number of deaths follow the flu activity. Hospitalization rates are already approaching total numbers seen at the end of the flu season, which may not be for months.

[backtoblue]

1. It's really bad

A few schools in my area have closed recently due to flu outbreak. Stay well everyone...and wash those hands!

[yallerdawg]

2. The M$M is highlighting 63 children have died.

4,000 a week is "slightly" more alarming.

I was "visiting" in a hospital a week ago - ALL of the "professionals" we're wearing surgical masks and patients were staged in the emergency room halls - no rooms available. THAT was a little unnerving, too - but still it was "the children" on the news.

[RKP5637]

3. I'm a bit scared. I don't know if we would survive it. We're doing all the hand washing, etc., but

you still have to breath air.

[RandomAccess]

81. here's a couple of things that could help ward it off

Most Americans are slightly zinc deficient, and zinc prevents viruses from replicating. Lots of Vitamin C also helps.

If you want more, PM me.

[RKP5637]

82. Interesting! Thanks!!! n/t

[JustAnotherGen]

83. Take care

I had the flu shot, then came down with it 8 days later - early November. I have A.S. so my immune system might as well be that of an elderly person or infant.

Flu (5 days in bed) turned into a sinus infection . . .which went systemic, which lead to shock (hospital after passing out at home). That started a severe ear infection and fungal lung and sinus infection - off to ENT for sinusplasty. Finally - contracted a MRSA infection from being in and out of the hospital and Drs office.

The ENT doctor at the end of January said I was doing better than most of the elderly people she had seen - and I've been really really sick.

[RKP5637]

87. It's so nasty, often leading to more things. Wow, sounds like you're doing a little better,

I hope!!!

[JustAnotherGen]

108. I had some place to "go"

I take magnesium, zinc, a daily vitamin and treat my pain with a plant based diet. No naproxen, steroids, Mendel, etc etc.

The ENT and hospita ERl were "happy" I could respond to steroids and antibiotics and codeine cough medicine.

And now I'm doing nasal spray and singulair (so) for two months. Breathing through your nose is fundamental!

[onecent]

103. I refuse to get the flu shot or the other shots they want me to take.

I may go out of this world, I'm 72, but I see too much with these shots going around.

Never will have one, EVEN if I get the flu..

[JustAnotherGen]

107. It's a tough choice to make

What "helps" someone with a weak immune system can also hurt them. If your my age (45 on Tuesday), healthy and no issues - I would get it. My mom is 72 and having issues due to a hernia (lung and heart) - I'm glad she didn't get it this year.

[onecent]

112. I know, damn if you do and damned if you don't

I'm staying in alot...KC City has just NOTHING but cold... but today sheets of ice, but I have people that can go get
anything I need. I'm 72 also, I sometimes put that in when I HAVE to...lol

Good Luck to your mother.....

[Skittles]

130. oh wow

I am SO glad you are back and at it - what an ordeal

[Squinch]

15. The death numbers reported around the flu are always hinky. For example, it is often

reported that the flu kills about 30000 per year. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2010/08/26/129456941/annual-flu-death-average-fluctuates-depending-on-how-you-slice-it

Then you find that it is not the flu that kills 30000. In actuality the CDC does not separate the flu deaths from all deaths from respiratory illnesses. That includes asthma, pneumonia, etc. in addition to flu.

And in this OP's article, we find out that on a historically bad year, the flu killed 12,469 people. Logically, if in one of the worst recent flu years, the flu killed 12,469 people, why do we keep seeing that 30000 number? And how, also, could that 4000 deaths per week number possibly be accurate?

There is a lot of haze around flu death numbers. Always has been.

[yallerdawg]

20. From the OP link:

Deaths from influenza and pneumonia, which are closely tied to each other in the winter months, were responsible for 1 of every 10 deaths last week, and that’s likely to rise, Schuchat said in a conference call Friday. There were 40,414 deaths in the U.S. during the third week of 2018, the most recent data available, and 4,064 were from pneumonia or influenza, according to the CDC data. The number for that week is expected to rise as more reports are sent to the agency.

[Beaverhausen]

118. Pneumonia or influenza

Not just the flu.

[yallerdawg]

119. "Closely linked in the winter."

The flu kills those who have weakened immune systems and those with chronic illnesses.

The flu often leads to pneumonia, which would then be the identified cause of death.

Look - all we are saying is you better worry and you better take every precaution you can. This is serious.

[csziggy]

77. I tried to buy some face masks the other day

Stopped at three pharmacies and they were all out.

Since my bout with the flu, my nose had been really sensitive - breathing through a mask or a tissue helped ease the pain of raw nasal passages. But there were none to be found while I had the energy to look.

Fortunately my nose seems to be better - less bleeding and sneezing, plus little pain anymore.

[dixiegrrrrl]

92. I keep a jar of Vick's VapoRub on hand for the sensitive nose times

Just a dab in each nostril, clears up sinuses helps keep them moist, while allowing comfortable breathing.
Unless one really dislikes the smell.

[csziggy]

93. Anything in or on my nostrils drives me crazy

So putting Vick's on my nose would not help.

What happens with me is when the humidity is below 30% the insides of my nostrils crack and bleed. I have found nothing that stops this other than using my CPAP machine with a high humidity setting but I can't use it all the time since I'd have to carry it around. Even after the ambient humidity goes up it takes days for the cracked places to heal and stop hurting every time I take a breath.

Wearing a mask helps increase the humidity and warms the air I am breathing. But I have not been able to find any of the comfortable soft masks anywhere since January. I was ready to settle for the stiff ones (like a lot of construction trades use) but those have been sold out, too.

[AmandaRuth]

4. i am an after-hours emergency operator

at a hospital, and i can tell you this is no joke. I get call after call of people with flu symptoms. I do what I can, with special effort for the very young and the very old. Its brutal, and I am so stressed when I get off work, I've been taking to walking to the farthest bus stop, actually the first stop on the run home, about a 2 miles, just so I can settle down a bit.

[gvstn]

13. I had a friend who would circle

Around the lot to get the closet space She didn't "have a car, to walk". Good on you for going the distance and walking when you don't have to.Thanks for helping those most in need.

[hfojvt]

5. I was trying to get stats on flu deaths

I remembered about 50,000 deaths a year, but this time I noticed that most of the deaths were from pneumonia.

[Mariana]

19. They count those people because they probably wouldn't have died

If they hadn't had the flu. Whether they died directly from flu or from complications of flu, the reason they died is because they had flu.

[hfojvt]

45. my medical degree is from google U

A quick scan did not find a link between pneumonia and the flu, they seemed to be separate diseases which were just combined statistically, perhaps as a larger category "winter illnesses"

[Mariana]

46. Here you go, from the Centers for Disease Control.

"Sinus and ear infections are examples of moderate complications from flu, while pneumonia is a serious flu complication that can result from either influenza virus infection alone or from co-infection of flu virus and bacteria."

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/complications.htm

[Mariana]

47. More ...

Why doesn’t CDC base its seasonal flu mortality estimates only on death certificates that specifically list influenza?

Seasonal influenza may lead to death from other causes, such as pneumonia, congestive heart failure, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It has been recognized for many years that influenza is underreported on death certificates and patients aren’t always tested for seasonal influenza infection, particularly the elderly who are at greatest risk of seasonal influenza complications and death. Some deaths – particularly among the elderly – are associated with secondary complications of seasonal influenza (including bacterial pneumonias). Influenza virus infection may not be identified in many instances because influenza virus is only detectable for a short period of time and/or many people don’t seek medical care until after the first few days of acute illness. For these and other reasons, statistical modeling strategies have been used to estimate seasonal flu-related deaths for many decades. Only counting deaths where influenza was included on a death certificate would be a gross underestimation of seasonal influenza’s true impact.

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/us_flu-related_deaths.htm

[hfojvt]

56. yet here

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pneumonia/symptoms-causes/syc-20354204

they do not mention flu as a major cause.

[Mariana]

62. They don't mention anything as a major cause, do they?

They just list the various causes. Before, you said you found no link.

I'm not in the loop how exactly they come up with the figures, sorry. If you root around some more, maybe you can find what percentage of cases of pneumonia are secondary to influenza.

[mrs_p]

66. My PhD is in influenza A virus

Influenza leaves one vulnerable to secondary bacterial infections, partly because it can depress your immune system that would fend off bacterial infections and partly because it can cause enough damage in your airway. The latter leads to break down of the normal mucociliary barrier (mucus plus respiratory cells with little microscopic hairs) that normally would clear out bacteria from your respiratory tract. It is actually quite common to have viral infection first followed by bacterial infection.

The other way influenza kills is by invoking secretion of certain inflammatory proteins in the body that can cause a “cytokine storm.” This leads to widespread tissue damage and subsequent death.

[Squinch]

67. No. That is not correct. They count all the people who died of respiratory illnesses and then

they extrapolate a percentage of them and assume they died of flu related illness. They do this because they feel that many who have flu are not tested for flu so they don't really know if they had flu or not, but they thing they should count a certain percentage of them.

It's all kind of bullshit.

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/us_flu-related_deaths.htm

[smirkymonkey]

6. Preview of coming flu seasons.

One of these years, we are going to have a pandemic like 1918 and we will be powerless to stop it. I think it's only a matter of time and with the current administration's dismantling of the healthcare system it will be difficult to contain. One thing is that the flu does not discriminate between rich and poor. Everyone is susceptible.

[RKP5637]

9. I've been wondering that too ... with all of the permutations and combinations for flu I think it's

going to be difficult to keep up. There is work being done on some type of "cover-all" vaccine, but I think they said that is 5 or 6 years off, even if successful.

[smirkymonkey]

12. It's definitely scary and I am not sure that science can keep up, especially when their budgets

keep getting cut by the anti-science, moronic Trump administration.

"Could there be another super-flu? The possibility worries scientists."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/researchers-hope-to-find-stronger-flu-shots/2018/01/17/50508e98-f176-11e7-b3bf-ab90a706e175_story.html?utm_term=.48d4453264f9

"A century after one of history’s worst disease outbreaks, scientists are rethinking how to guard against another super-flu like the 1918 global influenza that killed tens of millions.

But researchers hope they’re finally closing in on stronger flu shots, ways to boost much-needed protection against ordinary winter influenza and guard against future pandemics, or outbreaks in many countries.

Labs around the United States are hunting for a super-shot that could eliminate the annual fall vaccination in favor of one every five years or 10 years, or maybe, eventually, a childhood immunization that could last for life. Despite 100 years of science, the flu virus too often beats our best defenses because it constantly mutates, or changes.

[snip]

If a never-before-seen flu strain erupts, it takes months to brew a new vaccine. Doses arrived too late for the last, fortunately mild, pandemic in 2009. Lacking a better option, the nation is “chasing” animal flu strains that might become the next human threat, Fauci said. Today’s top concern is a deadly bird flu that has jumped from poultry to more than 1,500 people in China since 2013. Last year it mutated, meaning millions of just-in-case vaccine doses in a U.S. stockpile no longer match."

[AmandaRuth]

7. also, I can't link to this and I don't know if it is true or not

but some of the providers down where I work think we are dealing with 2 separate flu virus's, one that this flu season shot addressed, and one that mutated to something else. Like I said, I don't know if this is true, it could be just exhausted break room worker talk.

[RKP5637]

10. Yep, the vaccine this year is not effective for the most prevalent type. It's almost a

guessing game each year, and this year it does not protect against the most prevalent strain ... but they say to get the vaccine anyway, because the others are around too.

[yallerdawg]

17. In Alabama, earlier this year we had 90% plus capacity in hospitals.

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report today showing this year's flu vaccine is about 23 percent effective against the most prevalent strain of flu being reported across the country."

"Another factor that influences how well the flu vaccine works is the age and health of the person being vaccinated. In general, the flu vaccine works best in young, healthy people and is less effective in people 65 and older. This pattern is reflected in the current season early estimates for VE against H3N2 viruses. VE against H3N2 viruses was highest -- 26 percent -- for children age 6 months through 17 years. While not statistically significant, VE estimates against H3N2 viruses for other age groups were 12 percent for ages 18 to 49 years and 14 percent for people age 50 years and older."

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/local/progress/2015/01/16/state-health-officials-advise-getting-flu-shot/21859859/

[RKP5637]

18. Thanks for the update on 23%. I always get the vaccine every year. n/t

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

32. Welcome. Enjoy your visit.

[hatrack]

34. Already alerted

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

37. That didn't take long ... nt

[hatrack]

36. 6 . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . .

.

[hatrack]

38. Thanks, MIRT - appreciate the assist!

[RKP5637]

50. Wow, MIRT is incredible!!! n/t

[Cal Carpenter]

33. The tiniest grain of truth

in your post doesn't make up for the rest of that bullshit.

Alerted.

eta: Yeah, I know, my post is more likely to be hidden than yours, but even here on DU the truth is sometimes secondary to some bullshit concept of civility

[herding cats]

53. That was fast.

[herding cats]

55. You would know all about that, huh?

[Cal Carpenter]

57. Dang this place is being overrun today. Wth?

[herding cats]

58. Its just one busy little bee.

They’ll be gone again soon.

[Spider Jerusalem]

40. It's not that it doesn't protect, it's that it's only about 10-30% effective

which isn't to do with the viral strain in the vaccine but with the way the virus reacts to the medium that it's grown in to create vaccines.

[RKP5637]

41. Thanks for the update!!!

[Rollo]

128. Problem in one word: eggs

Virus mutates when grown in eggs to extent that human immunity is to egg mutated virus, not the one (H3N2) that circulates in human population.

Fix is expensive because everything is set up to grow vaccine viruses in eggs.

[left-of-center2012]

23. "2 separate flu viruses"

Yes. I've heard reference on the news to "type A" and "type B". Possibly a third also.

[dixiegrrrrl]

8. My doc sez patients are getting type B after they are getting over type A.

and she has seen hundreds of cases, doesn't remember when it was this bad.
our town is about 6,000 people. she says the ER is packed with cases showing up, as is her clinic.

I dunno which type Mr. Dixie and I got, it was a week long bout.

[RKP5637]

11. We've had something here ... not sick enough to be really sick, but we both have it, seems

to be getting better. We both had the flu shots. It's certainly not the severe flu if we even have it. We have Tamiflu stuff here, but have not taken it, just have not had fever or real aches and pains.

[AnotherMother4Peace]

16. My husband had the flu twice - I'm assuming A & B - I thought I was going to lose

him. I had it & it put me in bed for a week. Then it took me a week to get my energy back. Given we're older and my husband had cancer last year, but it took down our two sons with similar intensity. Truly scary. My husband and I both had a flu shot......

[Demsrule86]

24. Scary. I had a flu shot too...and have not gotten it thus far. I don't deal well with flu...at the

first sign going to demand tamiflu or Amantadine (formerly known as symmetrel).

[roamer65]

14. Its almost germ warfare level.

I had to hit some antibiotics lying around to knock out the resulting respiratory infection.

The Chinese pig farms did a good job on engineering this one.

[Horse with no Name]

21. Our university hospitals are full

we can't even admit patients for non-urgent surgical procedures because there aren't any beds available.

[Hortensis]

22. At least censorship techniques have advanced since, I think, 2007/9?

Back then I did a search to find out how the flu season was going and found all news coverage had abruptly stopped about a week before. It wasn't the inept blanket censorship when VP Cheney disappeared after 9/11, where older articles were cleansed from websites, leaving only their titles on tables of contents to show what was happening, and social chat sites like this that insisted on chatting were gutted and/or closed down.

In 2007 or 2009?, instead, technical articles on the flu epidemic were allowed but of the sort that most people wouldn't read, and that most of those would have trouble understanding.

Now we see that the media are being allowed to tell people there is a flu epidemic, but I am wondering if some information could be censored. The same concerns, such as that people might try to protect themselves, by such things as staying home from work or keeping kids home from school (i.e., "panic&quot that lead to censorship before, could mean censorship is in place right now.

(On the "no" side is how likely it is that Trump could keep his mouth shut about it?)

Btw, I've also read that counterproductive methods based on assumed need to nip (mostly imaginary) massive panic reactions through ignorance are/have been reconsidered by disaster experts. Very belated studies disprove the dangerously contemptuous old notions. Don't know how much of that enlightened view might have become institutionalized so far, but it was very badly needed before just a handful of years ago.

[lindysalsagal]

25. I'm wearing gloves to the gym till this thing subsides.

I was laid out on the sofa twice years ago. I couldn't watch tv. No lie. I laid on the sofa and moaned at the ceiling for a week. Every nerve in my body ached. You don't think you can walk to the bathroom. Tamiflu took about 70% of the misery away. Miracle drug.

[RKP5637]

26. I'm scared even thinking of having it, sounds really bad. I have Tamiflu just in case. n/t

[lindysalsagal]

28. One minute I was at work, going strong. I started to feel achy, and 30 minutes later I asked a co-wo

Worker to watch me get to my car because I was sure I would fall down and have to crawl to it.

Flu isn't stomach or a head cold, so wait to take it when the backs of your knees and your hair ache. It hits you in minutes, like a truck.

[RKP5637]

42. Wow, I've had nothing like that. n/t

[lindysalsagal]

43. Lots of people throw the word "flu"around, but until you're feeling millions of nerves you never kne

knew you had, all screaming simultaneously, you don't know what you're talking about. I think we should have better education about common viruses and symptoms.

[RKP5637]

48. I had it really bad about 7 years or so ago. It was horrible horrible. I should have gone to

the hospital, but did not. The worst part for me was breathing.

[dixiegrrrrl]

94. "your hair ache"

Yes!!!! I never hear people talking about that , but it is a surefire warning sign that i am getting sick.

The worse part of flu, unlike a cold, is that my brain refuses to work, so even trying to read or watch a movie does not sink in.

2nd worse....all the rib pain from all the coughing.

[lindysalsagal]

106. Yeah. You've had the real flu. Most have no idea.

Be careful!

[left-of-center2012]

27. I'm 71 with a weakened immune system (diabetes).

This flu has me scared.

I did get the stronger flu vaccine for the elderly, plus the pneumonia vaccine.
My doctor has told me that these should help me fight off the flu if I get it.

I had a friend die from the flu several years ago.
From the time he became ill to the time he died was about four days.
....................................

“Why Are Infections Risky for People With Diabetes?
People with diabetes are more adversely affected when they get an infection than someone without the disease, because you have weakened immune defenses in diabetes.
Studies have shown that even those who have minimally elevated blood sugar levels experience worse outcomes with infections.”

[lindysalsagal]

29. Stay home as much as possible. Let a friend deliver meds and groceries. De-stress and do relaxation

Sessions morning and night. Listen to good music and get some laughing in. Worrying isn't good for your immune system. Neither is DU, these days.

[left-of-center2012]

64. So ---- Don't watch the news?

[Skittles]

86. watch the news only if you can discuss here with us, left-of-center!

DU is my oasis of sanity in a sea of red

[eppur_se_muova]

31. Schools in northern AL have been closing for 2-4 days ...

... in the hope of slowing the spread among students.

[dewsgirl]

39. I don't believe any "official" numbers. It is scary as hell knowing the numbers are likely much

Higher. Remember what they did with Puerto Rico's death toll and now they aren't releasing Afghanistan civilian casualties.

[RKP5637]

120. Yep, it's like TPTB think they can cover it up. It's a stupid approach in a supposedly enlightened

society.

[Iggo]

44. And how many weeks have they been keeping track?

[RKP5637]

49. I think they've been tracking it since day 1. n/t

[Iggo]

79. And what date was Day 1?

[RKP5637]

80. About 6 weeks ago.

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/index.htm

[Iggo]

84. Thank you!

[Squinch]

102. I don't see anything about 4000 deaths weekly in that CDC summary.

[RKP5637]

114. Here's another article stating the same, there are a number in searches, although neither did I see

it specifically on the CDC site, at least from what I could tell.

https://www.healththoroughfare.com/news/4000-americans-die-flu-virus-weekly/4305

[Motley13]

52. GET A FLU SHOT, !!!!! not perfect but it will help

[RKP5637]

60. K&R!!! n/t

[EllieBC]

74. Yes! Several articles about deaths (especially in the young)

have included "didn't get the flu shot".

Get it. It may not totally prevent it but it may make the symptoms less severe.

[rzemanfl]

61. Just today, after six days, my immune system figured out the combination to this year's flu.

I am 70, but in good health generally and it knocked me on my back for days. The insidious part is the second day I started to feel better and went about as if I had a mild cold. That is a smart evolutionary tactic for a virus. I had the shot but it didn't protect me.

The only bright spots are:

1) The fever dreams are like Hollywood movies.
2) Your breathing is loud enough so no one will wonder if you're dead.
3) When it finally leaves it leaves pretty fast.

[RKP5637]

63. Curious, did you take Tamiflu? Thanks! n/t

[rzemanfl]

65. No and I should have said that. I was at the doctor for a scheduled visit during the "mild cold"

phase and never thought about it. I didn't learn until I was like four days in that it is recommended for old folks like me.

[Motley13]

68. DID YOU HAVE THE FLU SHOT?

[sarah FAILIN]

70. Both my kids got the shot

Both got the flu.
Hubby got no shot, he got it.

I can't decide if I have it or not. I have an occasional 1 degree fever, cough, sneezing and I'm wheezing when I breathe out. Seems like I should feel worse.

[GulfCoast66]

85. I doubt you have it

because if you have it, you have no doubt

[rzemanfl]

75. I mentioned that I did. Please don't yell. n/t

[OhZone]

69. I'm confused.

At my work, only one person seemed to have had really bad flu symptoms.

A lot of people have had an annoying cold, but without the normal flu symptoms.

From google:
"Flu
Also called: influenza
ABOUT
SYMPTOMS
TREATMENTS
Usually self-diagnosable
Symptoms include fever, chills, muscle aches, cough, congestion, runny nose, headaches, and fatigue.
People may experience:
Pain areas: in the muscles
Cough: can be dry or with phlegm
Whole body: chills, dehydration, fatigue, fever, flushing, loss of appetite, body ache, or sweating
Nasal: congestion, runny nose, or sneezing
Also common: chest discomfort, head congestion, headache, nausea, shortness of breath, sore throat, or swollen lymph nodes"

I had the cold too. I had no fever, no chills, no muscle aches, no headaches, no nausea, no shortness of breath, and I wasn't even that fatigued.

Just congestion, a cough, a very slightly sore throat at first, but gone in a day. I'm still fighting the cough but I feel fine. :/

That's what a bunch of people at work have.

So I'm not seeing people calling out with flu, with that one exception.

One.

Oh well.

[RKP5637]

73. We had that here. Not the real flu, but something like you said! n/t

[ileus]

71. All our vents are on patients and we've "rented" a dozen more.

It's hammering our ER pretty bad right now. Looks like it's going to be a good bottom line for the next few months considering the admissions we're having...that makes a huge difference to a small community hospital like ours.

[USALiberal]

72. Where are the "The Flu shot gave me the flu" posts? n/t

[sarah FAILIN]

96. Replaced

Now we know the shot isn't very effective.. we got the flu in spite of getting the shot.

[thucythucy]

76. My sweetie is presently undergoing chemo

so we're VERY aware of how serious this all is.

Be well, everyone!

[RKP5637]

78. ...

[GreenEyedLefty]

88. I had the flu shot - the rest of my family did not.

My husband and both kids got sick a few weeks ago. They were down for 5-6 days.

During this time, I had a stuffy nose and heaviness in my chest but was still able to work and function. About a week of those symptoms and then I had sudden head cold-type symptoms and cough that lasted about 18 hours. No idea what that was, my theory is that the flu was trying to take a hold but my body expelled it. I dunno.

I was worried about my daughter, who has a history of pneumonia, so I took her and her brother to the doctor. Both tested positive for flu. Everyone on the medical staff had had a flu shot and all were still standing, and had seen multiple strains, so the flu shot does work.

[RKP5637]

89. Flu shots do work, they are not always perfect, but they do work. I would never ever not

get a flu shot for myself.

[GreenEyedLefty]

91. I'm getting one every year from here on out. My kids too, to the extent that I can "make" them.

This crap is no joke.

[stevenleser]

110. I had a very similar experience to yours. I also had the shot. Looks like we got some protection

from the shot that lessened the intensity of the flu that we had.

Everyone I know who didn't get the shot got the flu really bad.

[Shrike47]

90. My husband and I are getting over the flu right now. We both had flu shots.

Fever, cough, cough, cough. I’ve been coughing for 2 weeks but it’s getting better. My temperature got up to 102. Since I’m usually somewhere in the 96 degree area, I was kinda worried but the doc said not to be so...

Yes, you ache all over.

Nobody offered us Tamiflu and it probably would have been too late anyway because we thought it was a cold initially.

[MFM008]

95. Imagine if you will..

The 1918 H1N1 strand getting loose.
It killed up to 50 million (numbers are not solid due to war/flu deaths and fact it was 1918)..
It should be as scary as ebola.
It scares the crap out of me.

Take care of yourselves.

[GreenEyedLefty]

111. I did some reading on this.

The 1918 H1N1 was a novel strain - the young adults it primarily killed had never been exposed to anything like it.

We now have vaccines, antivirals and medicines to treat the secondary infections, so the likelihood of a pandemic being as deadly as 1918 is reduced.

[tenderfoot]

97. A friend of a friend lost their 9 year old daughter to the flu a few weeks ago.

[Hekate]

100. Dear God. I am so sorry.

[DFW]

98. For the first time in years, I let myself get talked into getting the flu shot

I rarely get the flu, but my GP back in Dallas insisted, and he never does that normally. When it hits me, it's merciless, and I knew we had to be in Berlin soon (last week, now), where it has been especially prevalent. It must have been some kind of hellacious dosage, because my shoulder ached for a week afterward. But we have been spared so far.

An English friends of mine is currently on a cruise in New Zealand and Australia, and his girlfriend, who is with him, hasn't left their cabin for about a week, because she got the flu while on the boat. Needless to say, she hasn't seen much of New Zealand.

[RKP5637]

117. It's pretty bad. I got the flu shot, I always do. I've had something about a week as have others in

the house, but it's never progressed beyond that, just feeling lousy, but no temp or muscle aches. It could even be a cold. We do have Tamiflu, but it just doesn't feel necessary at this stage. I can't imagine much worse for flu than being on a cruise ship, so confined.

[Hekate]

99. Talk about a scary thread. Hubby & I are both officially "seniors" now. He's 71 this month.

Yes, I always get the shot. My immune system used to be pretty robust and I only got the flu every 7 years. Then one time in my 50s I caught the flu and relapsed into pneumonia, so no more taking chances thank you. My doc insisted I get the pneumonia vax as soon as I recovered.

I later read that despite all the wonderful advances in medicine there is still a 30% death rate for pneumonia, which kind of stood my hair on end because the winter I read that my sister caught it 3 times. She had been economizing/saving the environment by keeping the temp in her house way too low overnight, despite her doc's advice, and she lives in snow country. I told her to stop screwing around being heroic.

My husband's immune system is compromised because he takes an immunosuppressant medication to keep his colitis in remission. He gets the vax too.

I am glad that MIRT escorted Name Removed out of this thread, because I don't need to be preached at by antivaxxers and/or freaks of nature who've never been sick a day in their lives and think illness is all in your head.

[RKP5637]

116. K&R!!! n/t

[pansypoo53219]

101. i was reading the smithsonian's aricle on the 1918 spanish flu.

1917 was bad, but then it came back worse in 1918. of course milw had a socialist mayor then + closed the city down. only 3 died.

could next year be worse?

[RKP5637]

125. I just posted this NYT article on why it's so bad this year, really bad.

Thought you might find it interesting. It's scary.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210217894

[Renew Deal]

104. I know multiple people Coast to Coast that have had it

Normally I don’t know anyone that has had it

[Vinca]

105. Then it must be time to slash the CDC budget so they have to cut their epidemic prevention by 80%.

[LAS14]

109. Where do you get 4000/wk? nt

[RKP5637]

115. It's in the article title I quoted, also here, for example.

And also in searches. https://www.healththoroughfare.com/news/4000-americans-die-flu-virus-weekly/4305

[LAS14]

126. Malwarebytes blocks this site. Just FYI for folks who aren't running anti-malware software. nt

[RKP5637]

127. Wow, that's interesting! I run a real time scanner and it shows nothing, guess it's missing it!

Here a NYT article: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/18/health/flu-season-facts.html

... just thinking, I run Linux systems, maybe that's why it does not see it as a threat, no idea. Neither my scanner nor Firefox malware detection picks it up. Thanks for the heads up.

PS: I just ran the Google scanner on that website and it too came up with nothing. The malware must be really hidden. Here is the Google scanner, just fyi.

https://transparencyreport.google.com/safe-browsing/search?url=https:%2F%2Fwww.healththoroughfare.com%2Fnews%2F4000-americans-die-flu-virus-weekly%2F4305

[Tipperary]

136. That is nonsense. Even the CDC says different. Why panic people?

[RKP5637]

137. I did not write the headline! Here is another article, Bloomberg, saying the same.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-09/flu-caused-1-in-10-american-deaths-last-week

The headline was from the article, quoted.

If you don't want to be informed, don't like my posts or me, just put me on Ignore. Thanks!

[FarCenter]

113. It's on the high side this year, but not near a record.

Over 48,000 died in 2003-2004 season.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2010/08/26/129456941/annual-flu-death-average-fluctuates-depending-on-how-you-slice-it

[B2G]

121. Just got back from AZ and so far so good.

I was convinced I'd catch it on the plane. Tomorrow will be day four from returning, so looks like I might be in the clear.

Fingers crossed.

[RKP5637]

122. Wow, I would have my fingers crossed too. Hope you don't get it. ... seems it would

have probably set in by now if you got it on the plane.

[B2G]

123. Yeah the incubation period is 1-4 days.

This will be the first time flying hasn't gotten me sick. Whew.

[RKP5637]

124. Glad to hear you're ok!!!!!!

[NickB79]

129. I got my shot, still got the flu but only for 3 days

Went down on a Friday, was deliriously sick until Sunday afternoon, but felt well enough to go to work on Monday.

Still have a bit of bronchitis 2 weeks later, but it's bearable.

I shudder to think how long I would have been sick without my vaccine. FYI, I got the quadravalent shot vs the trivalent shot.

[vi5]

131. Misleading headline...

..that makes it sound like 4,000 people are dying every week just from the flu. From the article itself:

"Deaths from influenza and pneumonia, which are closely tied to each other in the winter months, were responsible for 1 of every 10 deaths last week, and that’s likely to rise, Schuchat said in a conference call Friday. There were 40,414 deaths in the U.S. during the third week of 2018, the most recent data available, and 4,064 were from pneumonia or influenza, according to the CDC data. The number for that week is expected to rise more reports are sent to the agency."

The pneumonia deaths are not necessarily directly tied to the flu, and this was just from one particular week not that this is happening every week.

It's still bad, and people should be safe and cautious. But that headline is a little alarmist.

[MarvinGardens]

132. General info.

I work for a public health agency that you have probably heard of. I don't personally work on influenza, but I work closely with those who do, because we use the same analytical tools (mostly mass spectrometry). So I will share some snippets that I have learned from those folks. Think of this as sharing with friends. I do not speak on behalf of said agency.

Even if you read that the flu shot is X percent effective (where X is a low number), get the flu shot anyway. If you get the flu after having the vaccine, it will reduce the severity of your illness. This is not conveyed in the percent effectiveness numbers. The percent effectiveness only looks at [contracted flu] versus [did not contract flu].

The flu vaccine also confers a cumulative immunity if taken continuously over the years. This is not widely publicized and also not reflected in the percent efdectiveness. So again, get the flu shot.

Both influenza A and B are widespread this season.

There is also an adenovirus going around that is causing flu like symptoms, muddying the waters, so to speak.

On a personal note, I got the flu, the real deal, in 2002 in my late 20s and was messed up. I did not feel right for a month. I have gotten the flu shot every year since, and as far as I know, have not contracted the virus since. If I have, it's been very mild on par with a cold. This is only a personal anecdote, but makes me believe the "cumulative immunity" hypothesis.

[RKP5637]

133. Thanks for this summary!!! I get the shot every year. Your mentioning the

adenovirus going around that is causing flu like symptoms is interesting. That might be what we have. I feel like the flu, but not really, no temperature and no real aches, but yet feel like I've had the flu or something. It's been going on about a week and comes in waves.

[BlueDog22]

134. Weather

I wonder how much the odd weather has played into this? We are having warm, humid days followed closely by cold days and then back to warm days.

[RKP5637]

135. To me, weather has an influence on it. n/t