- Joined
- Jan 26, 2009
- Messages
- 353
(If this was already on here.....I could not find it..... seemed like a very good perspective from a knowledgable parent) Good to pass along to upperclass members?
Post from the College Confidential site responding to Captain Fell's latest update:
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Please be advised that I am a health care provider, but am not in contact with the Academy. The information below is FYI and based on my extensive research and contact with the CDC and Maryland State Health Department.
First of all, the above letter from Captain Fell is very accurate in terms of information. The reason why I say that, is because much of what you will read in the paper and hear on television is not. There is, however, some information to add to his letter that may be helpful for you to know.
Initially, there is NO TEST for H1N1 influenza. When specimens are "tested", that means that the swab specimen is placed on a petri dish and grown for three days. A microbiologist or medical technologist then looks at the specimen under a microscope to see if it looks like H1N1.
The above specimen evaluation is only done for some of the cases. In Maryland, health care workers' and hospitalized patients' swabs are being evaluated. Students, children, and other lay persons are not having their specimens evaluated. Each state gets to determine how they handle this event.
So you may ask, how are they determining who is infected with this flu? Good question. Cases of H1N1 are being determined by clinical presentation only. That means, if you have a fever > 100 degrees F combined with a respiratory illness (coughing, sore throat, congestion, body aches and fatigue) you are considered contagious and must be isolated for 7 days (or 24 hours after your symptoms subside, whichever is longer) or up to 10 days for children. They are assuming you have H1N1 because presently, there is no other circulating influenza in the US.
The tests done for Influenza A in the doctor's offices are frequently done. Unfortunately, in adults, they have up to a 50% false negative rate. That makes the information that they provide not very useful.
The big thing to remember here is that the population most greatly affected by this virus is children and young adults aged 5-24, with the average age being 16. This virus does not seem to affect the very young or old.
The H1N1 influenza virus has caused the World Health Organization to raise the pandemic level to 6, the highest level, but this is for how it has spread, NOT because it is severe disease at this time. Right now, the course of the illness seems to be very similar to seasonal flu. There is NO indication that the virus has mutated and become more virulent.
Things to take away from this letter:
If you are sick, get immediate medical attention--antiviral medication can be helpful in decreasing the symptoms and needs to be started within the first 48 hours, or it is not effective.
Sick means fever of > 100 and a respiratory illness--you absolutely always will have a fever with the flu.
If you are sick, isolate yourself.
You are still shedding virus even if you feel better and 7 days have not passed.
Wash your hands frequently, especially after coughing or sneezing.
My son is a Senior Drill Instructor this year for indoc. From what he tells me, they are handling this situation the way it should be handled. As I said, I have no direct contact with Academy health care personnel, just information through my son, but it sounds good to me.
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Post from the College Confidential site responding to Captain Fell's latest update:
========================================================
Please be advised that I am a health care provider, but am not in contact with the Academy. The information below is FYI and based on my extensive research and contact with the CDC and Maryland State Health Department.
First of all, the above letter from Captain Fell is very accurate in terms of information. The reason why I say that, is because much of what you will read in the paper and hear on television is not. There is, however, some information to add to his letter that may be helpful for you to know.
Initially, there is NO TEST for H1N1 influenza. When specimens are "tested", that means that the swab specimen is placed on a petri dish and grown for three days. A microbiologist or medical technologist then looks at the specimen under a microscope to see if it looks like H1N1.
The above specimen evaluation is only done for some of the cases. In Maryland, health care workers' and hospitalized patients' swabs are being evaluated. Students, children, and other lay persons are not having their specimens evaluated. Each state gets to determine how they handle this event.
So you may ask, how are they determining who is infected with this flu? Good question. Cases of H1N1 are being determined by clinical presentation only. That means, if you have a fever > 100 degrees F combined with a respiratory illness (coughing, sore throat, congestion, body aches and fatigue) you are considered contagious and must be isolated for 7 days (or 24 hours after your symptoms subside, whichever is longer) or up to 10 days for children. They are assuming you have H1N1 because presently, there is no other circulating influenza in the US.
The tests done for Influenza A in the doctor's offices are frequently done. Unfortunately, in adults, they have up to a 50% false negative rate. That makes the information that they provide not very useful.
The big thing to remember here is that the population most greatly affected by this virus is children and young adults aged 5-24, with the average age being 16. This virus does not seem to affect the very young or old.
The H1N1 influenza virus has caused the World Health Organization to raise the pandemic level to 6, the highest level, but this is for how it has spread, NOT because it is severe disease at this time. Right now, the course of the illness seems to be very similar to seasonal flu. There is NO indication that the virus has mutated and become more virulent.
Things to take away from this letter:
If you are sick, get immediate medical attention--antiviral medication can be helpful in decreasing the symptoms and needs to be started within the first 48 hours, or it is not effective.
Sick means fever of > 100 and a respiratory illness--you absolutely always will have a fever with the flu.
If you are sick, isolate yourself.
You are still shedding virus even if you feel better and 7 days have not passed.
Wash your hands frequently, especially after coughing or sneezing.
My son is a Senior Drill Instructor this year for indoc. From what he tells me, they are handling this situation the way it should be handled. As I said, I have no direct contact with Academy health care personnel, just information through my son, but it sounds good to me.
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