Posted by HenryVIII (anonymous) on November 2, 2009 at 4:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)

"72-year-old hospitalized male with underlying health conditions."
Dear God! If it can kill a gravely ill, elderly man then none of us are safe! Give me a break... Even the common cold can kill people with "underlying health conditions". Let me know when it takes-out a perfectly healthy 30 year old. Only then will it be news and possibly cause for concern.

My sympathy is with the family, but I don’t think this should be breaking news.
'enry

Posted by create (anonymous) on November 2, 2009 at 4:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Knock it off, Henry, you insensitive oaf!

Posted by mythoughts (anonymous) on November 2, 2009 at 4:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)

FROM THE CDC:
A large proportion (73%) of patients hospitalized with 2009 H1N1 had one or more underlying conditions, including asthma, diabetes, heart, lung, or neurologic disease, or pregnancy. Asthma was the most common underlying medical condition, and was found in 29% of children and 27% of adults. Although underlying medical conditions were common, severe illness among young healthy persons was also identified.

So, 27% of the deaths were amongst perfectly healthy people. Cover your coughs, folks! ESPECIALLY in line at the store, ok?

Posted by chiefsfan (anonymous) on November 2, 2009 at 5:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Don't just cover coughs! A lady was in line waiting to be waited on, with at least 50 people in line with her, and she sneezed 3 times, not once did she cover her mouth to sneeze! Geez, people, common courtesy!!

Posted by chiefsfan (anonymous) on November 2, 2009 at 6:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)

As a person who had the misfortune to get H1N1 I just want to say, it is the worst sickness I have ever had, and as a note of advice: drink, drink, drink! I became dehydrated, which made how I felt even worse. Think about getting some pedialyte (I know this is for infants, but has some good nutrients in it, even for adult to avoid dehydration), also popsicles. Popsicles were the only thing I felt like eating, and as they are flavored frozen water, will also help with the dehydration.

Posted by create (anonymous) on November 2, 2009 at 8:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Thank you, chiefsfan. Good advice, especially on the Pedialite in view of the electrolytes it replaces. Gator Ade is also a good choice.

Popsicles are a good choice for keeping fever down too.

Posted by goodoleboy (anonymous) on November 2, 2009 at 8:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Could the gazette please let us know how many people died in the last few years of the regular flu? I am interested in a comparison.

Posted by HenryVIII (anonymous) on November 2, 2009 at 8:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)

That's what I'm saying, goodoleboy. I didn't see any "breaking news" about deaths associated with the regular flu.
'enry

Posted by create (anonymous) on November 3, 2009 at 8:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Where, goodoleboy? In the U.S.? Kansas? Lyon County? Emporia?

Posted by hottopics (anonymous) on November 3, 2009 at 9:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Are they back to giving just the regular flu vaccs again? No mention of that.

Posted by zippy (anonymous) on November 3, 2009 at 10:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Several people have said that they were positive for H1N1 but I've heard that test is very expensive (around $600ish), so they were probably positive for the flu (no type testing done). The labs are only testing whether it is positive or negative for influenza, not which type of flu they have. When someone dies, they test to see what they have.

Posted by giggles (anonymous) on November 3, 2009 at 10:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I got what was confirmed to be Type A Influenza, from a friend. They were almost positive that it was H1N1 as this person works in healthcare. In any case, it was for me a rather mild case, however, the person I got it from said it was the worst they had been sick.
I must also account for a very severe case of influenza that my husband and I had about 4 years ago. We were bedridden for at least 5 days. It literally hurt to breathe. I woke up at one point and thought I was dead. When I finally inhaled, I began coughing, so I knew I wasn't dead because it hurt really bad. Anyway, I think that somehow gave us some immunity to this flu.

Posted by goodoleboy (anonymous) on November 3, 2009 at 11:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Lyon county or even the state of Kansas would suffice.

Posted by JustWondering (anonymous) on November 3, 2009 at 4:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Mythoughts:--How does using the number of people hospitalized with H1N1 with or without underlying health conditions equate to 27% of deaths being among "perfectly healthy people"????? Did ALL of the people who were hospitalized die?
You cannot take the data that 27% of those hospitalized had no underlying health problem and extrapolate that 27% of deaths are among "perfectly healthy people".
You are comparing apples and eggplants with these statistics.

Posted by goodoleboy (anonymous) on November 3, 2009 at 5:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)

LOL did you see the picture on the Front page? Are they trying to scare the crap out of kids or what?

Posted by neighbor (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 1:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)

A hospitalized terminally ill cancer patient dies of H1N1. RIP sir.

Next thing you know, everyone that passes away at the rest homes will have died of H1 too.

Posted by create (anonymous) on November 4, 2009 at 4:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I just watched an interview on CNN with the CDC chief who gave a comparison between deaths from regular flu and H1N1.

Normally, 90% of the people who die from regular flu are over the age of 65. With H1N1, 90% have been under 65.

He did add that although H1N1 has not been as severe as originally feared, what makes this flu so unusual is that younger people are dying from it when they ordinarily are able to fight it. Also, the full flu season has yet to begin since it usually occurs in December/January.