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Flu Killed a 12-year-old

January 23, 2016 By Janet Vasquez Leave a Comment

"A chart describing the symptoms of the common flu"

The girl died on the 16th of January due to renal failure.

STATES CHRONICLE – This January 16^th the flu killed a 12-year-old girl from Port Orchard, Washington. The girl started complaining about flu-related symptoms and was treated with medication accordingly to her symptoms, but her state only got worse, her temperature rose at alarming levels and she suffered a renal failure and then died last Saturday. Doctors found that she was suffering from an influenza infection.

The flu killed a 12-year-old for the first time in seven years. Because the influenza is caused by a virus, the doctors could not have prescribed antibiotics to the little girl. Virus infections cannot be treated, but they could be prevented with proper vaccination.

The influenza symptoms and complications are fever, nausea, light headedness, dehydration, headaches, runny nose, bronchitis, encephalitis and sinusitis. The renal failure occurred after her temperature spiked, the immune system was down because of the virus and her metabolism started working at alarming speeds. A high fever could prove to be very dangerous, especially on a 12-year-old child that is already weak and dehydrated.

According to her relatives, Piper Lowery, the girl that died last week because of the flu, was a very religious, nice and hardworking child. She used to sing whenever she had the chance, while in the car, while doing chores, with others or by herself. She used to sing Carrie Underwood’s song “Church Bells” when she was in the car with her mother.

The family had a nice surprise to discover a video footage of her singing the latest Adele hit song, “Hello” while riding her motorbike. And she did break the heart of family and friends for leaving them too soon.

Piper’s parents tried very hard to conceive a child and after years of hard work they Piper came to be via in vitro fertilization. Three years later she was accompanied by her brother, Brian. Her mother says that she was an incredibly emotionally developed child, she used to care for her brother and bring her father “treats” while he worked in the garage.

And even though they were rather new to the area, the principle from Piper’s school send a very emotional e-mail to her parents saying that she was an exceptional child that made friends easily and was very much loved by her colleagues at school. She even won a “Terrific Kid” award last fall’s semester.

While influenza-related deaths are usually rare, flu killed a 12-year-old girl from Port Orchard, Washington and it should be an alarm signal for parents who don’t vaccinate their children.

Image source: www.wikimedia.org

Universal flu vaccine that can protect from every disease on the anvil

September 25, 2013 By Janet Vasquez Leave a Comment

In a major development in the field of medicine, UK researchers are close to develop a “universal” flu vaccine that could protect against every strain of the illness.

According to researchers at the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London, the vaccine could be considered the “holy grail” of flu vaccines.

To examine the risk factors for severe flu, the researchers carried study on 300 staff members and students from the Imperial College. They found that those who avoided severe cases of the flu often carried a higher number of flu-fighting CD8 T cells.

Lead researcher Ajit Lalvani said, “The immune system produces these CD8 T cells in response to usual seasonal flu. Unlike antibodies, they target the core of the virus, which doesn’t change, even in new pandemic strains. The 2009 pandemic provided a unique natural experiment to test whether T cells could recognise, and protect us against, new strains that we haven’t encountered before and to which we lack antibodies.”

“We already know how to stimulate the immune system to make CD8 T cells by vaccination,” he said while adding, “Now that we know these T cells may protect, we can design a vaccine to prevent people getting symptoms and transmitting infection to others. This could curb seasonal flu annually and protect people against future pandemics.”

US pediatricians advise citizens to get vaccinated against flu

September 2, 2013 By Janet Vasquez Leave a Comment

The US pediatricians have issued an advisory to the citizens to get themselves and their kids vaccinated against flu as soon as possible. Several new and improved vaccines have been launched in the market.

With the flu season right around the corner, the diseases are lurking around the bend. Therefore the peds have made the recommendations to the families to get vaccinated at the earliest to protect from the flu.

There are several new vaccines in the market and while some of the newer ones might appear better, it’s not worth waiting for one, the American Academy of Pediatrics said in an advisory.

There will be two new types of flu vaccines available this year. One will cover four different strains of the flu, more than any previous vaccines. Another is made without eggs, making it appropriate for those with egg allergies.

“With the exception of children less than 6 months of age, everybody should go out and get their influenza vaccine as soon as the influenza vaccines are available,” Dr. Michael Brady of Nationwide Children’s Hospital and chairman of the Committee on Infectious Diseases for the Academy said.

Children who are at higher risk for complications of the flu should especially be sure to get the vaccine, the report stated. 160 children died from flu during last year’s flu season. For newborns and young infants, the best protection is for their mothers to get vaccinated while pregnant. Pregnant women are advised to get flu shots to protect themselves, also. Pregnancy affects the immune system and expectant women have more than the usual risk for getting severely sick from influenza and other infections. But despite this advice, during the 2010-2011 U.S. flu season, only about half of pregnant women reported getting a flu vaccine.

“Parents should not delay vaccinating their children to obtain a specific vaccine,” added pediatrician Dr Henry Bernstein of the Hofstra North Shore – Long Island Jewish Health System in New York, who led the team writing the recommendations.

“Influenza virus is unpredictable, and what’s most important is that people receive the vaccine soon, so that they will be protected when the virus begins circulating” the recommendations said.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that anywhere between 3,000 to 49,000 people a year die from flu in the United States, and up to 200,000 are sick enough to be hospitalized.

About 128 million people, or about 42 percent of the US population, got immunized against influenza in the 2011-2012 flu season. Because flu viruses constantly mutate and evolve, people must get vaccinated with a fresh formula every year to be fully protected.

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