RSS
Home
The TRUTH about H1N1, and what we're NOT being told.
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Is the truth about the H1N1 (Swine Flu) virus being kept away from the public just to alleviate the “fear” of H1N1? I’ll tell my story and let you decide.
The week of September 1st, my Uncle contracted the H1N1 virus. His son also had the virus, and we assume they were exposed to it at a Cub Scout camping trip the weekend before, or from another child in his son’s class at school. It is too difficult to say exactly how anyone contracts the flu virus.
My Uncle has significant underlying health issues because he previously had Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), and went through a bone marrow transplant. This put him at a much greater risk of catching the virus, and having a more difficult time dealing with it. As a result of these issues, he became worse very quickly and found himself unable to breathe. He spent the next 6 days at Emory Hospital being tested and treated for the virus and pulmonary issues.
My Mother, my Aunt, and I were his primary caretakers during his time at Emory, and I got to ask a lot of questions about the H1N1 virus directly to doctors from the infectious disease department. The statement from the doctor that made the most impact on me was this:
“If you have H1N1, you are contagious for 7 days after the last day (24 hours) of a fever.”
After learning more than I ever wanted to know about H1N1, I asked what seemed to be the taboo question of the year.
“If you are contagious for 7 days after your last recorded fever has gone, why is the CDC recommending that children go back to school only 24 hours after their last recorded fever?”
Evidentially, I went too far with that question. “Ums” and “ahs” seemed to be the only thing out of the doctor’s mouths. The only response I got was this:
“Every school board is making its own decision about what is best for its children. You need to check with your school board to inquire about the decision they made.”
And again I said,
“That’s not what I asked. I asked why the CDC was recommending that children could return to school 24 hours after the fever was gone.”
The only other response I got from the Emory Hospital Infectious Disease Doctor was,
“With each passing day, the infectiousness diminishes, but you should inquire with the CDC if you have any further questions regarding the length of infectiousness of H1N1.”
Call me crazy, but it sounds to me like children should be kept away from school or any other children for 7 days after their fever has broken. Doesn’t it sound that way to you?
I immediately began calling the CDC, and was getting transferred from one person to the next, none of whom could answer the question with any certainty. I guess because I was calling as a concerned mother of two school-aged children, they felt it was okay to give me the run around. So, I began emailing the CDC as a reporter from Examiner.com (which I am, so that’s okay). And here is the response I received from Tom Skinner, Senior Public Affairs Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“While people may shed virus after they have been without fever for 24 hours without use of fever reducing medicines, the current science suggest they are not shedding infectious virus or amounts required to make others ill.”
In other words, what the hell does that mean? Let’s break this down.
(While people may shed virus after they have been without fever for 24 hours without use of fever reducing medicines,)
What this means is that people who have the virus and have not had a fever for 24 hours, actually no longer have the virus. So it’s out of their system. Okay, go it.
(the current science suggest they are not shedding infectious virus or amounts required to make others ill.”)
Now what this says to me is: Although the virus is no longer in the infected person’s system, they have not shed enough of the infectiousness of the virus to keep others from getting the virus.
So Gwinnett County, and the rest of the US for that matter, it sounds to me like many children will get H1N1 because of mixed messages and unclear advice. The recommendations are not supported by the science. Even if a child is less infectious with every passing day, it will still take 7 days for the infectious part of the virus to leave their system.
Of course, I can now verify my finding as fact (my fact). My son, who is in a 4 year old pre-school class, has been suffering with H1N1, and the beginning stages of pneumonia, for the last 8 days. And frankly, it’s the pneumonia that is likely to kill him, not the flu virus. How did he get it? As usual, we can’t be completely sure but, I was told by his teacher that another child in his class had H1N1 the week before. Luckily, the child was kept out of school for a good while by his parents, but who knows if they overlapped at any point. There's no way to tell. All we know is that both children have now gotten the virus. And I don’t blame the parents or the school for my son getting H1N1 (he could have gotten it anywhere). They simply followed the advice they were given by the school, and the school followed the advice from the CDC. Everyone was doing what they were told was the “right thing.” But now, I have had my child home from school for 6 days now (private pre-school, for which I pay a lot of money). And I’ll probably keep him out for the rest of the week just to make sure he doesn’t infect anyone else.
Can we rely on every other parent to do the same thing, so that others don’t become infected? Not if the CDC and the school boards don’t give the recommendation. So what are parents to do?
Here is some helpful information about H1N1 from Emory Hospital.
What are the signs and symptoms of this virus in people??The symptoms of novel H1N1 flu virus are like seasonal flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Although fever and cough are the most common symptoms, novel H1N1 appears to cause more diarrhea and vomiting than regular (seasonal) flu.
How can I distinguish between the seasonal flu and novel H1N1??The symptoms of both influenza types are similar. There are laboratory test that can detect seasonal and novel H1N1 infections. However, basically all flu viruses currently in circulation are novel H1N1.
How severe is illness associated with the novel H1N1 flu virus??Overall, novel H1N1 virus infection is about as severe as regular seasonal influenza. While most people who have been sick have recovered without needing medical treatment, hospitalizations and deaths from infection with this virus have occurred. About 70 percent of people who have been hospitalized with novel H1N1 virus have had one or more medical conditions previously recognized as placing people at "high risk" of serious seasonal flu-related complications. One thing that appears to be different from seasonal influenza is that adults older than 64 years do not yet appear to be at increased risk of novel H1N1-related complications. About one-third of adults older than 60 may have antibodies against this virus, meaning that they may have some protection from severe infection, probably from being exposed to similar viruses when young.
How is novel H1N1 spread??The novel H1N1 virus spreads just like seasonal flu viruses. The main way that flu viruses are spread is from person to person in respiratory droplets from coughs and sneezes. This is called "droplet spread." This can happen directly when droplets from a cough or sneeze of an infected person travel - usually less than six feet - through the air and land on the mouth or nose of people nearby. Droplet spread also occurs indirectly when you touch a contaminated object, like a doorknob or telephone and then touch your mouth or nose.
Related Articles:
Comments
.jpg)
