More and more people got flu these days. I have so many people around me to have flu: one after another in office, and about half already got flu. one colleague has 4 out of 5 people in the family to get flu. Yifan get flu, and is still coughing. I am not feeling good this morning but better this afternoon.
Most of the people visited hospital and confirmed it is not H1N1 Flu, including Yifan, but I just started to suspect why the flu got spread out so quickly? I never experienced flu infection as strong, and as fast as this.
I even started to guess whether the flu is actually H1N1 Flu, but it just proven not to be that harmful in China, so the hospital doesn’t report it as H1N1? Or, I hope, it is just an coincident.
我们公司也是，自两周前开始，陆续有人出现症状，还好，全部痊愈，目前仍在蔓延中。是否H1N1不清楚。
cdc.gov: “The symptoms of novel H1N1 flu virus in people are similar to the symptoms of seasonal flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. A significant number of people who have been infected with novel H1N1 flu virus also have reported diarrhea and vomiting. The high risk groups for novel H1N1 flu are not known at this time, but it’s possible that they may be the same as for seasonal influenza. People at higher risk of serious complications from seasonal flu include people age 65 years and older, children younger than 5 years old, pregnant women, people of any age with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease), and people who are immunosuppressed (e.g., taking immunosuppressive medications, infected with HIV).”
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Emergency warning signs
If you become ill and experience any of the following warning signs, seek emergency medical care.
In children, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:
Fast breathing or trouble breathing
Bluish or gray skin color
Not drinking enough fluids
Severe or persistent vomiting
Not waking up or not interacting
Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
In adults, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:
Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
Sudden dizziness
Confusion
Severe or persistent vomiting
Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
Stay informed. Health officials will provide additional information as it becomes available. Visit the CDC H1N1 Flu website.
Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners* are also effective.
o Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread this way.
o Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
o If you are sick with a flu-like illness, stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of fever-reducing medicine.) Keep away from others as much as possible. This is to keep from making others sick.
o If you are sick and sharing a common space with other household members in your home, wear a facemask, if available and tolerable, to help prevent spreading the virus to others. For more information, see the Interim Recommendations for Facemask and Respirator Use.
o Learn more about how to take care of someone who is ill in “Taking Care of a Sick Person in Your Home”
o Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds, and other social distancing measures.
o If you don’t have one yet, consider developing a family emergency plan as a precaution. This should include storing a supply of extra food, medicines, and other essential supplies.
link: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/sick.htm#5
Some rumors said that it’s H3N2….
H1N1 flu is nothing to be worried about if you are otherwise healthy. You do not need to visit a hospital for the flu. Just stay in, rest and drink a lot.
Some lessons from Australia, which is already over the worst of H1N1 flu and it was not as bad as people expected – levels of disease are now falling.
The overall rate of hospital admissions for H1N1 flu was 16.5 per 100,000 people compared with the rate for seasonal [‘normal’] flu of 15.3 per 100,000. People most likely to have severe disease were 50 to 60 year olds, whereas the very young and those over 60 years have had fewer admissions to hospital than normally seen with flu. Only two deaths out of 41 (12%) were in people below the age of 40 years.
Overall, about 10% of the population (similar to most winters with seasonal flu) had H1N1 flu, and the fatality rate was less than 0.005% actually lower than what is usually seen in seasonal influenza for most people.
The updates I heard so far on the news are somewhat different than the info. came out from Australia as Michael mentioned. They (news) are still talking about kids/youth are the primary group, especially kids… the death rate is higher than other groups.
Whatever it is, it is a doozy. I am wiped out. Also never saw a flu virus this strong before.