Swine Flu Kills Third American, Lacks Lethal Traits Of 1918 Bug
A Snohomish County man in his 30s with “underlying heart conditions” died last week from what appear to be swine flu- related complications, the states health department said in a statement on its Web site.
Still, the genetic blueprint of the new H1N1 virus sweeping the globe is “good news,” Anne Schuchat, interim deputy director for science and public health of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said yesterday. Swine flu, now in 29 countries, may yet exchange genetic material with other viruses and mutate into something worse, Schuchat told reporters in a conference call from Atlanta.
“The good news so far is that the virulence markers for the 1918 and H5N1 influenza viruses do not appear in the H1N1 strain,” Schuchat said. “What we dont know is whether there may be other virulence markers. Remember the first wave of the 1918 virus was mild and the next wave was devastating.”
As swine flu spreads, its symptoms have been less severe than Mexicos first fatalities suggested. That could change, Schuchat said. How the virus behaves as the Southern Hemisphere flu season begins, and whether it comes roaring back in the U.S. in a nastier form later, depends in part on whether its traits hold steady, mutate, or mingle with the deadly H5N1 bird flu circulating in Asia, Schuchat said.
The flu has sickened at least 3,440 in 29 countries, the World Health Organization said yesterday on its Web site, and killed at least 49, not including the Washington death. Costa Rica said a 53-year-old man who had diabetes and lung disease died, the first fatality outside North America, the Associated Press said.
U.S. Cases
The U.S. had nearly 3,000 cases as of yesterday, about 20 percent more than the day before, and “the numbers are likely a very great understatement,” Schuchat said.
“Its too soon to say things are getting better. Were still accelerating,” Schuchat said.
The U.S. confirmed 2,254 cases and two deaths in 45 states, and had 720 probable cases, Schuchat said. The increase came as test kits reached all states and laboratories processed backlogged samples from suspected patients, the CDC said.
Mexico, where the flu has hit hardest, confirmed 1,626 cases and 48 deaths, Health Minister Carlos Olmos told reporters yesterday in Mexico City. Stringent measures beginning with the national closing of schools saved more than 8,000 lives, Mexico officials said.
Norway became the 30th nation to confirm human infections, in two people aged in their 20s who returned home recently from Mexico, the Nordic nations Institute of Public Health said in a statement on its Web site yesterday.
WHO Alert
WHO hasnt seen sustained, person-to-person spread of the disease outside North America, so the agencys pandemic alert will remain at phase 5, the second-highest level, Sylvie Briand, acting director of WHOs global influenza program, said May 8. The alert wont be raised unless theres evidence of community spread in another part of the world, she said.
Swine flu investigators in Mexico are trying to understand why some young adults died rapidly from influenza infections that usually kill people who are very young or very old, Briand said during a conference call with reporters from Geneva.
While most of Mexicos 48 confirmed deaths occurred in people with other health conditions that made them vulnerable, swine flu also killed a “limited number” of young, previously healthy adults and needs more investigation, Briand said.
The Spanish flu of 1918 that killed an estimated 50 million people in the worlds deadliest recorded pandemic also hit healthy, young adults with serious consequences, experts have said. Scientists are reviewing records of the young, fit patients in Mexico to see whether their care or other health conditions might have factored into the deaths, Briand said.
“Were still trying to understand who are the high-risk groups for this disease,” Briand said. “The more we know about this disease, the more well be able to have better control measures.”
Twenty-six, or 58 percent, of Mexicos swine flu deaths were among people aged 20 to 39, Mexican health authorities said.