Minnesota’s latest H1N1 Victim: 6 Year Old Boy with no Pre-existing Condition

Swine Flu Warning Sign

In a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota, lost its 2nd victim, with no  pre-existing conditions, to the H1N1 virus.  He was a six-year-old boy who contracted the flu from his father and brother, both of whom recovered without complications.  The day of his death, his parents took him into the doctor and were told to keep him rested and hydrated, which they tried to do, but by that evening, his condition went from bad to worse until he passed away and was unable to be revived by the EMS personnel called to his home by his parents.

Through Sept. 26, 2009, 128 children have succumbed to a type of influenza virus this year (CDC Weekly Flu Statistics), with 60 specifically associated with the H1N1 virus:

Eleven influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported to CDC during week 38 (Arkansas, Colorado [3], Georgia, Kansas, South Carolina [2], Tennessee, and Texas [2]). These deaths were associated with 2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus infection and occurred between August 23 and September 26, 2009. Since September 28, 2008, CDC has received 128 reports of influenza-associated pediatric deaths that occurred during the current influenza season (26 deaths in children less than 2 years, 14 deaths in children 2-4 years, 38 deaths in children 5-11 years, and 50 deaths in individuals 12-17 years). Sixty of the 128 deaths were due to 2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus infections, and 14 of these have occurred since August 30, 2009.

The CDC also describes the influenza cases exhibiting pre-existing conditions:

Of the 56 children who had specimens collected for bacterial culture from normally sterile sites, 21 (37.5%) were positive; Staphylococcus aureus was identified in 14 (66.7%) of the 21 children. Six of the S. aureus isolates were sensitive to methicillin and eight were methicillin resistant. Nineteen (90.5%) of the 21 children with bacterial coinfections were five years of age or older and 13 (61.9%) of the 21 children were 12 years of age or older. Twenty-five (41.7%) of the 60 children with confirmed 2009 influenza A (H1N1) infection had a specimen collected from a normally sterile site; seven (28.0%) of the 25 children had a positive bacterial culture; five of which were positive for S. aureus. Two of the S. aureus isolates were sensitive to methicillin and three were methicillin resistant. Other bacteria identified include Streptococcus constellatus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus, and Enterococcus.

On September 4, 2009, USA Today had an article detailing the number of pediatric deaths attributed to H1N1 and pre-existing conditions.  According to the article, at least 40  children have died of H1N1 influenza in the United States since April.  Of those 40, 67% had high-risk medical conditions, including epilepsy, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and other neuro-developmental disorders.

The H1N1 death of an otherwise healthy six year old boy can put fear into parents’ hearts for their own healthy children.  The reality is that most kids who contract H1N1 get sick, but they don’t die.  Many fewer deaths are attributed to H1N1 than the regular seasonal flu:  on an average year, around 36,000 people in the US die from the seasonal flu; as of the end of September, around 4,000 people have died from H1N1 worldwide.

What parents can do is what they’d normally do to keep their kids healthy: wash hands frequently, sanitize the house, keep kids with fevers home and away from others until they’re without a fever for a least 24 hours, make sure everyone in the family is getting adequate sleep, eating healthy and taking their vitamins, especially C and D, and take kids with high fevers to the doctor for treatment.  The media hype surrounding this issue is enough to scare any parent into jumping first into the vaccination line to protect their kids from this flu.  Before doing that, parents should be vigilant in researching the vaccines and their possible side-effects, and researching their own State’s laws regarding a possible Pandemic Emergency.

There is more to this than meets the eye.

Watch this site for more H1N1 news and info.

Other stories of interest:

1. The New Year, 2010, Will Be “The Year of the Patriot”
2. Swine Flu Vaccine Recall, Short Ships, and Many Questions
3. Ron Paul Speaks Out on Government Issued H1N1 National Emergency
4. Combating Hysteria of Swine Flu Declared a National Emergency
5. With the Threat of H1N1, Are Americans Really Free?