Among 534 Californian adults hospitalised with 2009 H1N1, 51% had a BMI above 30, rising to 61% of those who died. Obesity was tied to a 200% higher risk of death and extreme obesity to 300%, leading the authors to urge prompt treatment for obese patients.
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Swine Flu
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Vitamins
Vitamin C saves a man with swine flu
A Mercola post on a New Zealand News3 report. Doctors said dairy farmer Allan Smith could not survive severe swine flu and moved to end life support, but his family hired a lawyer to force the hospital to give high-dose intravenous vitamin C.
Vitamins
Could vitamin D work better than influenza vaccine?
The CDC urges everyone six months and older to take the 2010-2011 flu shot. The piece counters that neither cdc.gov nor flu.gov mentions vitamin D3, and cites researchers William Grant and John Cannell, who argue high doses boost innate immunity against influenza.
Disease
Swine flu milder than seasonal flu, vitamin D helps prevent both
A JAMA study of 6,874 Wisconsin patients found 2009 pandemic H1N1 was not associated with more hospital admissions or pneumonia than recent seasonal flu strains. The article also points to a study suggesting vitamin D may beat influenza vaccine at preventing flu.
Drug
Swine flu vaccine may cause health problems
Federal officials are examining surveillance data to see whether the 2009 H1N1 vaccine raised the risk of Guillain-Barre syndrome. An advisory committee chair says any risk appears to be no more than one case per million people vaccinated and may vanish on further analysis.
Disease
Swine flu outbreaks among care facility residents - CDC
CDC received reports of 2009 H1N1 outbreaks in long-term-care facilities in Colorado, Maine and New York in late 2009. Although infection rates among people 65 and older ran lower than for seasonal flu, the outbreaks show such facilities still need surveillance and infection control.
Miscellaneous
Most parents don't want their kids to receive swine flu vaccine
A University of Michigan poll of 1,678 parents found 40 percent would immunize their children against H1N1, against 54 percent for seasonal flu. Among those refusing, 46 percent were not worried their children would fall ill and 20 percent doubted H1N1 is serious.
Drug
Ancient Chinese remedy may help stop swine flu
Researchers at Kaohsiung Medical University in Taiwan tested roots of Ferula asafetida, used against the 1918 influenza pandemic, and found some of its compounds killed H1N1 virus as potently as a prescription antiviral. They say the finding may aid new drug development.
Disease
2008-2009 Influenza Season Week 35 ending September 5, 2009
CDC surveillance for the week ending September 5, 2009: 20.5% of specimens tested positive for influenza, 97% of subtyped A viruses were 2009 H1N1, one pediatric death was reported, and eleven states plus Guam saw widespread activity.
Vitamins
Vitamin D and H1N1 Swine Flu *****
Dr. John Cannell's newsletter argues that adequate vitamin D strengthens innate immunity by prompting hundreds of antibacterial peptides, and that the 36 U.S. children who had died of swine flu were much more likely to be vitamin D deficient, a pattern he says the CDC missed in its own data.
Vitamins
IV Vitamin C Used to Recover Terminal Swine Flu Case
Mercola relays Thomas Levy's account of a New Zealand farmer with swine flu and undiagnosed leukemia who was on life support until his family pressed the hospital to give intravenous vitamin C. The hospital agreed reluctantly, and the patient began improving two days later.
Government
Updated Guidance for Child Care and Early Childhood Programs
CDC's guidance for early childhood programs in the 2009-2010 flu season recommends children and providers with influenza-like illness stay home until 24 hours after fever resolves without medication, and offers a menu of tools to escalate if flu grows more severe.
Disease
One of the Key Herbs that Prevents and Treats Swine Flu
Dr. Mercola relays claims from Ayurvedic tradition and recent reports that the basil known as Tulsi strengthens the body's defenses against viral illness and may speed recovery from swine flu. He drinks Tulsi tea himself, chiefly as an adaptogen.
Miscellaneous
Warning: Swine Flu Shot Linked to Killer Nerve Disease
A leaked UK Health Protection Agency letter told neurologists to watch for a rise in Guillain-Barre Syndrome linked to the swine flu vaccine. It cited the 1976 US campaign, pulled after ten weeks once the nerve-disease link became clear.
Vitamins
Canada Looks at Vitamin D for Swine Flu Protection
The Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed it will adapt an existing study of vitamin D and severe seasonal influenza to the H1N1 virus, partly to learn whether vitamin D levels explain why most flu cases stay mild. Dr. Mercola urges readers not to wait for the results.
Disease
Arkansas reports first swine flu death
The Arkansas Department of Health reported the state's first death from H1N1 complications and withheld further details for confidentiality. The CDC listed 11 states with regional flu activity, and the WHO counted 162,380 lab-confirmed cases and 1,154 deaths worldwide as of Aug. 4.
Disease
Swine flu throws a curve ball
German researchers infected five pigs with the pandemic H1N1 strain and watched it spread to three others within four days, reporting in the Journal of General Virology. Thomas Vahlenkamp says preventing human-to-pig transmission should be a priority; pig vaccine tests are underway.
Disease
Four Britons die after getting swine flu, tips help you fight against the virus
A 19-year-old London man with serious underlying health problems became the fourth person in the UK to die after contracting swine flu, the BBC reported. More than 1,900 Londoners had caught the virus, and experts warned UK cases could reach 100,000 a day within a month.
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