To hear of death in any circumstance knowing loved ones of the departed are embarking on a long journey of the mourning process is always difficult to report but when the victim is a child, the devastation felt by every parent can feel the pain of what the loss of a child endures.
H1N1 has claimed lives but it is unclear how many of those lives were of people with underlying health conditions. Recently in Toronto 13 year old, Evan Frustaglio died on Monday after spending the weekend sick going from having minor cold symptoms to dying 48 hours later. The initial reports from CBC and other news media after his death was told with different detail entitled “Boy 13, dies after showing flu-like symptoms”
Originally, the report did not know if Evan had H1N1 and the symptoms were listed as flu like complaining of a ‘stiff neck’. Immediately I and other readers felt a diagnosis of bacterial meningitis might have been the contributing factor. When the update came later that evening stating there was confirmation Evan died of H1N1 and was in perfect health the story of symptoms changed. There was no report of Evan complaining of a stiff neck in the new report. Dr. David McKeown, Toronto’s medical officer of health, said Evan had a mild case of asthma, although his father flat out refuses that diagnosis even though Evan was on puffers a few years ago when he came down with a cold. Although it had been a few years still indicates Evan had weakened bronchial tubes and may have not be exposed to any serious colds since, it’s so difficult when a child’s death must be disputed within the media and social networks because the story in the mainstream media changed quickly and omissions of his original reported symptoms had been made. Unfortunately the symptoms Evan experienced needs to be looked at closely and if it must, be disputed.
Immediately after reading the first report I was quick to comment, as were many others on the CBC discussion board Tuesday early morning. My comment was posted 2009/10/27 at 7:11 AM ET
“My sincere condolences and prayers to the family for their loss, my heart goes out to them.
I would like to emphasize and say the media is acting irresponsible with reporting two statements in this article, first saying he died of it reportedly, but then down the article saying it has yet to be determined if he did.
The symptoms sounds more like bacterial Meningitis then the Swine Flu which is even deadlier and hoping they determine the cause of his death quickly in case of now a bacterial Meningitis outbreak.
H1N1 in the media has become only a reader boost instead of accurate reporting, something the mainstream media throws out quickly with the H1N1 name attached before it’s even determined, causing more harm then good instilling fear when fear is the last thing we need at the moment. What we need is responsible reporting from those ‘trusted names’ in news which I’m using the term lightly these days after reading to much misinformation rather then good solid reporting”.
My 14-year-old son came to me last night to talk about the H1N1 virus, upon hearing of the 13 year old Evan and the 10 year old girl in Cornwall who also died this past week confirming it was H1N1 that took their life. He spoke to me what teachers are teaching in school and with questions on my opinion of how deadly this virus is.
How worried should we be, he asked? Could this virus be the one that will cause the end of the world? How do you answer a worried teen and reassure them not to spend time worrying about the reports literally putting the fear of death into people? How do you explain to your teen the chances that dying from this virus are slim but not unheard of as Dr. Roland Guasparini, Chief Medical Officer for the Fraser Health Institute is quoted as saying October 17 in the Vancouver Sun, “It’s ‘extremely rare’ to become seriously ill or die from the virus. Most susceptible are those with chronic heart disease, asthma, and lung disease.”.
How do I explain to my teen without influencing him on my opinions that this particular vaccine is not something I believe should be in effect at the velocity it is. I’d rather he research and draw his own conclusions since it may come down to the decision being his on getting the vaccine if he feels he is better protected with it? After that I’d be happy to discuss further with him my concerns on the vaccine and reiterate the need for good health and ever better hygiene.
It was a difficult conversation, with a difficult explanation especially since H1N1 virus is still a mystery to health officials of why it kills some and not all. Questions still unclear if it’s really killing healthy individuals or those with underlying medical problems and the fact there have been to many conflicting reports of H1N1 since the first cases in Mexico in the spring.
During our conversation, he brought up a very good point, a point so critically in need of an answer I too will be curious of the outcome. He pointed out that giving a vaccine to anyone who shows signs of a cold or flu could potentially make a person even sicker, something taught in class. My son’s question to me, how do they know when they give the vaccine someone already hasn’t been infected with the virus yet has not showed signs of it when they get the vaccine.
A great question I could not answer, and at the rate this virus is spreading and with the rate these vaccines are given, how many people who have or about to have the vaccine already exposed to H1N1 that day, or the previous day? Wouldn’t this be a risk factor upon getting the vaccine? The incubation period for the swine flu once exposed is 1-3 days. According to How Stuff Works, experts agree we start to become contagious 1 day before showing symptoms. If this is the case, how many standing in these clinics in some instances for 6 hours waiting for the vaccine are carriers and spreading the virus to those who are at most risk, those the one’s who are getting the first inoculations? How will health officials get an accurate understanding if the vaccine has caused people to get ill if they start to show symptoms following the vaccine, if it was from the vaccine or they may have become infected by the crowd around them?
I know during scheduled appointments for my children to get their vaccinations, told if my child even is sniffling, to postpone the vaccine, so how does this apply to the H1N1 vaccine. I tried to find an answer and the answer I found again conflicts what doctors and nurses told me with other vaccines including the seasonal flu vaccine. The CDC said as long as the symptoms of illness are mild there is no reason to postpone the shot.
This is very contradicting in my opinion and causes me to worry more at the rate that in which the H1N1 vaccine is given.
I know many will disagree with me, and to emphasize I’m not a doctor or a health official but I am someone who is questioning the need of a vaccine that should at this point be given not at mass clinics but individually by your doctor after a full assessment of your health has been made.
I’ve read and heard so many conflicting reports about the swine flu from media to W.H.O. to C.D.C it has left me less willing to get the vaccine. Let me give some examples.
The 1976 swine influenza vaccine was associated with an increased frequency of GBS, estimated at one additional case of GBS per 100,000 persons vaccinated (237,238). The risk for influenza-vaccine–associated GBS was higher among persons aged ?25 years than among persons aged <25 years Source
in a study of the 1992–93 and 1993–94 seasons, the overall relative risk for GBS was 1.7 (CI = 1.0–2.8; p = 0.04) during the 6 weeks after vaccination, representing approximately one additional case of GBS per 1 million persons vaccinated; the combined number of GBS cases peaked 2 weeks after vaccination (238). Results of a study that examined health-care data from Ontario, Canada, during 1992–2004 demonstrated a small but statistically significant temporal association between receiving influenza vaccination and subsequent hospital admission for GBS
Manufacturing trivalent influenza virus vaccines is a challenging process that takes 6–8 months to complete.
In a video clip on CBC dated February 21/83 entitled “The Swine Flu Fiasco” highlights the vaccination program in 1976 that led to adverse reactions from temporary paralysis to death.
Another video clip from the archives of CBC entitled “Gambling with the public’s health” dated October 25/76 highlights the public continuing public vaccinations against the swine flu despite reports the vaccine may pack some deadly side effects.
Interim Guidance for the Detection of Novel Influenza A Virus Using Rapid Influenza Diagnostic Tests
“None of the currently FDA approved RIDTs (Rapid Influenza Diagnostic Testing) can distinguish between influenza A virus subtypes (e.g. seasonal influenza A (H3N2) versus seasonal influenza A (H1N1) viruses), and RIDTs cannot provide any information about antiviral drug susceptibility.”
As I researched further into our human immune system regarding the H1N1 virus I came upon an interesting read released by The National Library of Medicine (NLM) written by Joshua Lederberg. Joshua Lederberg was a geneticist and microbiologist who is remembered without a doubt one of the leading scientists of the 20th century, his conclusion based on genomes from survivors of the Spanish Flu (also H1N1) natural antibodies were:
“The outcome of encounters between mutually antagonistic organisms is
intrinsically unpredictable. The 1918 influenza outbreak killed half
percent of the human population; but because the consequences were to
either kill the host or leave the host immune, the virus died out totally, leaving no trace in our genomes, as far as we know. Historic serology on survivors has found memory cells and antibodies against H1N1, the serotype of the resurrected 1918 virus. Unlike the influenza virus, which left no known genetic imprint, 400 to 500 retroviruses are integrated into our human genome.”
I also found out because reverse transcription lacks the usual proofreading of DNA replication, a retrovirus mutates very often. This enables the virus to grow resistant to antiviral pharmaceuticals quickly, and impedes the development of effective vaccines and inhibitors for the retrovirus.
These are only a few contradictions of many I have found and why I have become nervous to jump to the conclusion that a vaccine that is not FDA approved is the right course of action for all the world population.
I was also informed today (although this has not been verified) the vaccine is made from Chicken’s dead cancer cells and some who are high risk for cancer were told not to get the vaccine not knowing what the vaccine side effects will be in 5-10 years. I also was told by a friend one of her friends is pregnant and was told by her doctor not to get the vaccine, again this through hear say and have not personally confirmed this report.
There is an alternative medication on the market Oscillococcinum , FDA approved and is widely used successfully in Europe particularly in France for 65 years to treat influenza, and used in 50 other countries. The herb in Oscillococcinum can be traced back to Hippocrates finding he could cure vomiting in a sick person with a herb that actually induces vomiting in a healthy person.
“In later years, a German scientist and chemist, Hahnemann, rediscovered the same process when he found an herb that cured malaria in a sick person actually caused malaria-like symptoms in a healthy person. Homeopathy restores the body’s innate healing abilities; almost in the same way a vaccine stimulates our immune system.”
This homeopathy remedy was used during the Spanish Flu “In the 1918 flu pandemic homeopaths reported around 1% mortality in their cases, while conventional doctors were losing 30% of their patients.“
As of the year 2000, Oscillococcinum was one of the top ten selling drugs in France, was publicized widely in the media, and prescribed for both flu and cold. In 2008, revenue topped $15 million per year in the U.S., along with selling widely in Europe. Why are we not hearing more of this now as a safe alternative to the vaccine, especially for those who are very reluctant to get the non-FDA approved H1N1 vaccine?
Although I try to be very cautious of conspiracy theories at this point, it’s almost difficult not to at least read them and wonder is there something more to what’s going on outside the box surrounding us.
An Austrian investigative journalist is warning the world that the greatest crime in the history of humanity is underway. Jane Burgermeister has recently filed criminal charges with the FBI against the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations (UN), and several of the highest ranking government and corporate officials concerning bioterrorism and attempts to commit mass murder. She has also prepared an injunction against forced vaccination which is being filed in America. These actions follow her charges filed in April against Baxter AG and Avir Green Hills Biotechnology of Austria for producing contaminated bird flu vaccine, alleging this was a deliberate act to cause and profit from a pandemic.
Evidence-of-the-Use-of-Pandemic-Flu-to-Depopulate-USA –
This report apparently filed certainly grabbed my interest. At first reading this a month ago I was a bit skeptical until digging further finding one of the claims the above report mentions Baxter pharmaceutical company plant in Austria was caught “accidentally’ mixing to viruses. According to the report the “contaminated product, a mix of H3N2 seasonal flu viruses and unlabelled H5N1 viruses, was supplied to an Austrian research company. The Austrian firm, Avir Green Hills Biotechnology, then sent portions of it to sub-contractors in the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Germany.”
“While H5N1 doesn’t easily infect people, H3N2 viruses do. If someone exposed to a mixture of the two had been simultaneously infected with both strains, he or she could have served as an incubator for a hybrid virus able to transmit easily to and among people.” That mixing process, called reassortment, is one of two ways pandemic viruses are created. “
This very serious report was not widely picked up by media and difficult to find in the American media outlets of this incidence. I found this archive report in The Toronto Sun dated February 27, 2009.
It doesn’t take much Google search to find contradicting reports on what the CDC or health officials neglect to tell us for the most part.
To answer my son’s question, how safe are we is an answer I can’t give him since I can’t answer him who the true enemy is, the virus or the vaccine.
Baxter Vaccine Patent Application
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