Friday, October 2, 2009

CDC: 1 in 3 Pregnant Women Hospitalized with H1N1 (Swine Flu) Have Died




Historical one of the highest risks groups in a pandemic are pregnant women, and women who have recently given birth. Unfortunately this H1N1 pandemic is no exception. During a news briefing Thursday, U.S. health officials said the virus has hit pregnant women especially hard. Nearly 1 in 3 pregnant women hospitalized with H1N2 have died in the U. S.

Tom Skinner of the Centers for Disease control said that “Since the virus was first recognized in late April, early May, 100 pregnant women across the country have been hospitalized due to the novel H1N1 flu and 28 have died,”

There are two basic reasons for this. Pregnant woman have an immune system that is slow- it’s like their immune system is on standby – and it’s not as reactive as a non-pregnant person’s,” Dr. MannyAlvarez said. “And because of that, viruses, especially flu viruses of any sort can create a very severe infection.” The second challenge women face is as the baby grows inside the womb, the anatomy of a woman’s chest changes. “Their whole respiratory volume changes,” Alvarez said. “So if they get a secondary infection, such as pneumonia after the flu, it makes it very challenging and problematic for doctors to get airflow back into the lungs.”

“Just yesterday, a patient informed me that her son had the flu, so we immediately began administering antiviral medications, until the new vaccine becomes available.” Unlike other patients, pregnant women cannot get the nasal spray FluMist, Skinner said. “They must get the injectable vaccine, which will hopefully be available starting next week,” he added.

Folks, I hope that you will all get vaccinated, especially pregnant women. Historically the first wave of a pandemic is mild. It's the second wave that starts to show some teeth. We are only in the very beginning of the second wave so we are not sure how bad this flu can get.




photo credit

7 comments:

Mike Golch said...

Bummer.I'm afraid the this maybe as bad as the 1918-1919 pandemic was,I pray that I am wrong.

meleah rebeccah said...

With my immune system [or lack thereof] I have to get the vaccine.

this is so scary and terribly upsetting.

Cynthia said...

First I love the photo and have it saved to my favorite file to use on one of my own posts...it is beautiful

What is not beautiful is this flu. I have never ever been vaccinated for the flu but this seems serious enough to get even me off to the clinic when the medicine finally arrives!

kellypea said...

It's making its rounds at our school mostly with the kids. We're talking up the vaccine big time.

Mom Knows Everything said...

That's scary. I'm glad the kids are getting the vaccine at the schools here.

Awake In Rochester said...

Hi Mike Golch,

I'm worried that the new "SEVERE" form of H1N1 that WHO warned us about might be as bad as the 1918 flu. I'm trying to find more info on it, but am not finding much. They called the 1918 flu severe also. If you (or anyone listening) finds more info on it please email me.

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Hi meleah rebeccah,

You might want to consider staying home as much as possible when an outbreak occurs, especially if you haven’t had the vaccine. Outbreaks occur in waves and can last up to 12 weeks.

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Girl in a Glass House,

Glad you like the photo. Yes, I hope your whole family gets vaccinated. Your boys are in a high-risk group due to their age.
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Hi Lady Bananananana, ;)

I hope you really consider it. As a health care worker you’re on the front line.

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Hi kellypea,

It hasn't hit here much yet, but officials are stressing getting the vaccination.
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Hi Tammy,

Good! We don't have the H1N1 vaccine here yet. We are suppose to get a bit later this month.

kanishk said...

my immune system [or lack thereof] I have to get the vaccine. Work From Home