On 04 February 2013, Utah doctors reported the death of a seemingly healthy 16 years old boy. They say he died from a combination of flu and staph. The teenaged athlete got sick on 25 January and went down in a matter of a few days.
Utah doctors are warning of certain conditions that can create a super infection: “The people who have a compromised immune system and are taking some kind of medication or steroids, chronically, are certainly at greater risk from developing super infection from the flu.”-Douglas Dillon, Intermountain Medical Center
On 01 February 2013, North Dakota state health officials reported 55 new cases, and six more deaths.
Also on 01 February, the New Mexico Health Department reported 10 new deaths.
Minnesota reporting 112 deaths, 36 of those in the past week.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 45 children have died so far. The CDC tracks only the deaths of children when it comes to the flu. However, the CDC is also reporting record flu rates in old people (older than 65 years). Currently old people are dying at a rate of 116 per 100,000. The previous record flu death rate was 90 old people per 100,000.
The California Department of Public Health is reporting 14 deaths. Gary Green at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Santa Rosa, simply said “It’s getting worse.”
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health reported 18 deaths. They also reported 500 new cases since last week, which is a decrease from previous weeks.
In Texas, the Dallas County Health and Human Services reporting signs that flu season has peaked there. The hospitalization rate is down 15% from the week before. Back in mid January at least 5,500 grade school students in Dallas County were out sick.
In Oklahoma 17 people have died. Doctors there are also dealing with an increase in another infection which seems to travel with influenza. It’s called respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). I’ve mentioned it before. One doctor said as many as 95% of people get RSV by the time they’re two years old, and it’s a recurring illness. It seems to coincide with the flu season, here’s some signs of RSV to help distinguish from influenza: High fever, severe cough, wheezing, having a hard time breathing, and bluish colored lips and finger nails.
In Colorado veterinarians are warning of canine influenza, mutated from horses. Colorado and New York are the current hot zones for the new dog flu. Dogs have no defense because this is something new: “….is a relatively new virus affecting dogs. It was first identified in 2004 in Florida Greyhounds, and….proven to be a mutated horse virus……When dogs do get exposed to the disease about 80% of them will actually become ill, 20% become asymptomatic carriers.”-Wendy Huaser, vetrinarian
A study by Wake Forest School of Medicine, in North Carolina, revealed that some people are “super emitters” when it comes to spreading the disease. Researchers found that about 19% of infected people studied, emitted much more viruses when they coughed or sneezed, than other infected people. The study also challenges the current belief that flu viruses are spread in large airborne particles. They found much smaller particles as far as six feet from the infected person.
As I’ve been saying about flu vaccines; they’re too little too late, and now the Boston Globe agrees. In a complicated way, using the example of an 1898 study, they explained that the Influenza viruses mutate, or evolve, so fast that each year’s new vaccines are already outdated. Of course, being a mainstreamer they still push for you to get your shots.