Swine flu linked to 11 more child deaths
LAURAN NEERGAARD
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- The swine flu is causing an unprecedented amount of illness for this early in the fall, with the deaths of 11 more children reported in the past week. And less vaccine than expected will be ready by month's end, federal health officials said Friday.
Of the 86 children who have died since the new swine flu arose last spring, 43 deaths have been reported in September and early October alone, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. That's a startling number because in some past winters, the CDC has counted 40 or 50 child deaths for the entire flu season -- and no one knows how long this swine flu outbreak will last.
"These are very sobering statistics," said the CDC's Dr. Anne Schuchat.
Also surprising, about half of the child deaths reported since Sept. 1 have been teenagers. Until now, much of the attention has focused on younger children.
Also in contrast to regular winter flu, swine flu can cause a severe viral pneumonia in otherwise healthy young adults, the World Health Organization warned.
Again, prevention is key....
Two years ago, a dear friend lost his son to pneumonia, (22-24yr old), he was healthy, worked out etc...he thought he had a cold, it got worse, they sent him home with the flu, 3 days later he went back, a week after being admitted to the hospital, he passed. This is why I take minor illnesses seriously. A simple cold can turn into more. This is 2009 and we shouldn't be losing people to something that is preventable. Focus on prevention
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