Ukraine Hemorrhagic Pneumonia (Mutated H1N1) May Be Spreading

I spent some time last night trying to break down all the different news reports to make some sense of what we are seeing across the world in terms of H1N1, different flu viruses, mutations, completely different beasts, etc., and had to bench that post when I ran across this from PreventDisease.com.

A hospital spokesman has confirmed the second recorded H1N1 related death in Nacogdoches, a County in east Texas. Since the vast majority of H1N1 infections are mild, the death of two roommates within 24 hours of each other raises concerns that they were infected with a lethal contagious form of the virus.

The 53-year-old oil rig worker from Enid, Oklahoma died Friday at 3:50 p.m.

The victim checked into Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital last week when he began experiencing severe symptoms.

This update follows the death of his roommate, a 55-year-old oil rig worker from Mississippi, who passed away Thursday morning as a result of H1N1.

These were not only the first two H1N1 deaths in Nacogdoches County, but both men were also the first hospitalizations as a result of H1N1.

The increasing number of deaths, including this cluster described in Texas, raises concerns that a mutation known as D225G confirmed in Norway and Ukraine, which may also be present in Iowa, is gaining traction. More sequencing of samples near lung tissues in severe and fatal cases may present further evidence.

To the best of my understanding, the WHO is reporting that the H1N1 flu virus has mutated into a more lethal form that attacks the lung tissue instead of the throat.  This mutation appears to have occurred in Ukraine, (although I just ran across reports of the same symptoms in China in August, 2009), then migrated to East Europe and Norway, and may now be here in Iowa and Texas.

For what it is worth, the world is a mighty big place and there could be more than one mutation of the H1N1 Swine Flu virus at work here, or it could be a completely different bug dropped into the pond.  We just don’t know quite yet, and considering how little we trust our own government, the CDC, and WHO; we may never know exactly what is going on.

All of that considered, you can still take steps to protect yourself from whatever bugs come your way by building up your immune system.  The current natural recommendation is to increase your Vitamin D intake.

Dr. John Cannell on vitamin D (12.15.2008)

Dr. John Cannel on Vitamin D

The Council On Foreign Relations has a podcast about how to get YOU to take the H1N1 Flu Vaccine by stating that there is a shortage of the vaccine.  Does that not make you all warm and fuzzy inside?

If you would like to read the transcript of the CFR conference podcast that is in the above video, go here. It’s a doozy.