Is it time to panic yet?

That's really awful and tragic for her and her loved ones, but I'm sure the local news and CNN will be blaring this loudly as a sign that we're all going to die. I half-expect the local TV to say, "So Joe, has anyone died from swine flu in (local area) yet?" "No Fred, but we're hoping that will change soon. Meanwhile, here's what to do if you're hard of hearing and contract swine flu..."

Don't panic.

There's nothing to panic about at this point. It said she had other chronic health problems, so the flu (any flu) could have been really serious for her.

So when are we going to start reporting all "regular" flu deaths?

In the time it took to write this article, 1200 people died of regular flu.

@pecan 3.14159265: Nope. She likely would've died from the regular flu, too, if she was already in very poor health.

The 1976 Swine Flu Epidemic was much worse, primarily because 500 people became ill from the vaccination and 25 died.

@nakedscience: Yeah I know, I was trying to lure in all the paranoid people who are wearing hazmat suits.

@HogwartsAlum: And we don't know how old she was, either. The elderly, regardless of health, are more susceptible to illness.

This just in: dying woman dies. Media foaming at mouth.

I'm not worried if a few people die. I'm only going to start worrying if the dead start moving around again.

@pecan 3.14159265: haha. ;) i was fooooled.

@kylere: Don't forget the additional casualties when the reanimated corpses of the swine flu victims ravaged a local mall.

I thought there was already one death in the US from it...

@sean98125:

I had the same thought, NICE!

Not surprised. But a lot more people die because of more mundane reasons.

THIS IS NOT THE FIRST US DEATH. The 23 month old was the first, how can the article say "This woman was the first in the US to die from swine flu" and also say "Oh yea, and that 23 month old kid last week"? How many firsts can there be?

Here's the article in abridged form:

"Texas health officials have confirmed the first death of a United States resident with swine flu.

...the flu victim was a woman who lived in Cameron County...
...she died earlier this week.

Last week, a boy from Mexico City died at a Houston hospital, marking the first swine flu death in the United States."

I'm so confused.

@Erin Cummins: First US victim. The baby was not a US citizen.

There are really good reasons to worry about the Swine Flu, but it mostly has to do with the way in which it spreads, the quickness in which it spreads, and potential mutations. On the macro level, this flu is a very scary thing. The media's selling of YOU COULD DIE TO THIS on the micro level is pretty irrational and dumb, but I guess the media always tailors itself to its audience.

The media really needs to just cool it with the Swine flu panic reports. Emergency rooms and walk-in clinics across the country are getting unnecessarily strained by all this hype and it's hurting their ability to treat people who truly need help.

2005 Avian Flu: 257 deaths to date worldwide
Sars 2002-03 : 774 deaths

Average garden variety flu- 30,000 American citizens with 5% of the population per year.

Brett Stephens in todays WSJ-

In other words, despite all the processes of globalization that are said to be leading us toward nature's great comeuppance, trend lines indicate we are better equipped than ever to minimize the effects of a pandemic.

Why? Because wealthier people tend to be healthier people, and because wealthier societies have more to invest in medicine and research, and because a higher standard of living tends to correlate with more personal space. Also, because globalization means information sharing across boundaries, and rapid adoption of best practices, and greater transparency.

@Erin Cummins: I read what you posted and it seemed pretty easy to understand. Maybe you should read more slowly?

@nakedscience:

I seem to recall that a few years back they did just that; talking about the normal flu as if it were some great epidemic come to kill us all even though it was no big deal again a season later.

It's also important to remember that the child who died also had some underlying health problems. Today's Washington Post has an article examining some of the reasons why Mexicans have suffered the worst deaths. The article suggests that poverty and self-remedies are contributing. So if you suspect you have something, go to the doctor to make sure it's not just the regular flu, which you can fight with antibiotics, or just a lot of NyQuil.

@Erin Cummins: read what you wrote again:

Texas health officials have confirmed the first death of a United States resident with swine flu...

Last week, a boy from Mexico City died at a Houston hospital, marking the first swine flu death in the United States.

That's 1 down, 36,000 more before H1N1 overtakes regular influenza in yearly US deaths.

@Blinky987: Oh, let's not forget the potential for auto-immune problems, where healthy people can die from their robust immune system's reaction to the flu, not the flu itself.

I, for one, welcome our swine flu overlords.

@kylere: Hmm. Were the survivors also suddenly stricken with Autism?

@Erin Cummins: YAY facebook commenters.

@pecan 3.14159265: wait what? you can fight a viral infection with antibiotics? That's news to me!

@pecan 3.14159265: This. And I have many friends from Mexico, or their parents are from Mexico -- they are much less likely to go to the doctor when they are sick (due to both inadequate access to health care, and the way their culture looks at being sick). Here in America, we're much more likely to go "FLU!" and run to the doc, but there, they aren't.

@pecan 3.14159265: Flu's a virus. You can't fight it with antibiotics. All that will do is help boost resistance to the antibiotic you're prescribed. Bed rest, and aspirin or similar for the fever is really all you can do.

@IphtashuFitz: correct, 5 days ago an infant died, also in Texas.
[www.politicsdaily.com]

@pecan 3.14159265:

You can't fight the flu with antibiotics. It's a virus.

@Marco Deppe:
The baby died in the US but was not a US citizen. He was visiting from Mexico.

@HogwartsAlum: My youngest daughter was diagnosed with pneumonia; no doubt her asthma and all the cold and rainy weather we have had here the last was why. So yes, underlying health problems will make a person at risk with any type of flu. This is why nursing homes give as many residents as possible the flu vaccine every year.

@SeñorNoPareciendo: +1

@tbonekatz: Still makes the first line of the story incorrect. The first victim in the U.S. to die from swine flu was that infant, so far as we know.

Reminds me of my newspaper days in the early 90s -- we had a headline about a helicopter crash in Bosnia that blared "Three Americans Die in Helicopter Crash." Problem was, there were 11 people on that downed copter, and they all died. I remember bitching at the editorial meeting that it was disrespectful to act as though the lives of the Americans were more important than the others who died.

I was cleaning out the fireplace last night and inhaled a lot of dust. Coughed all the way to the doctor and found out it was just chimney flue.

@Blinky987: My mom teaches at a junior high that's been closed for five days for a confirmed case of swine flu. But the bigger issue is that the day before they shut down for the case the CDC identified (Patient Zero, we'll call her, for this school) they had more than 100 kids out, too sick to come to school, doubtless (health officials say) ALSO with the swine flu.

None of these kids is (probably) going to die. But because this is a NEW strain of flu, none of these kids has any immunity to it. None of them have had a "cousin" strain. It's not that it'll kill them or even do much besides make them miserable for a week or so ... it's that because there's no immunity or prior exposure in the population, it can spread with astonishing rapidity and sicken large groups at once. 100 kids home is getting close to the threshhold where they close the school ANYWAY. In a normal flu season, that simply doesn't happen. 100 kids may get the flu over the course of the season, but not all at once, and many people will have immunity.

So even leaving aside potential mutations and other scientific scariness, there's the plain old problem that a NEW strain, even if mild, can propagate through the population very quickly and hit large groups all at once ... which means a lot of these kids' parents can't go to work. They'll miss between 5 and 10 days of school (and they already missed 3 for snow and 2 for flooding, so they'll run out of emergency makeup days). If it were to race through, say, the NYSE trading floor, or a hospital, or a police station, that would be a serious disruption of normal life. Not dire by any means, but definitely expensive and definitely inconvenient.

@Japheaux: This is the only swine flu comment that has made me LOL (in amusement instead of derision, that is) since the whole stinking mess began. Thank you.

I'm getting tired of the swine flu. I think it needs a snappier name like the mexican pork flu.

@kylere: 25% of the population of the United States, 54,508,750 people, got the swine flu shot in 1976. 0.0009% of them became ill, and 0.000045% died. I still think this is worse.

What does this have to do with consumerists? Is www.consumeristhealth.com coming soon????

@Chris Swingler: @RecordStoreToughGuy: @pezstar: Geez, geez, people, one damn mistake on a thing I don't know much about. Pardon me for not looking it up on Web MD. Man.

@pecan 3.14159265: You mean you're not panicking already?

@Eyebrows McGee (on Twitter: LPetelle): Are the 100 kids verified? Or just teacher-to-teacher rumor? How many of those 'sick' kids are kids whose parents are keeping them out of school due to panic and fear? There is a lot of missing info here. Please forgive me if I don't take your mom's word for it.

@bilups: It's going to be hard to tell, because they're no longer interested in sampling the non-hospitalized. Illinois officially now is considered to have 82 swine flu cases, making it second only to New York in numbers with another 40 probable; I suspect that the 100 students is 100 students out of school rather than 100 students confirmed with the flu, but given the new not-testing-everybody policy there's not going to be a way to differentiate. Apparently there's also some confusion as reports go to the county first, and stuff comes in to the state at different rates.

I'm beginning to think it might not be such a bad thing to get it now, which would probably give you some immunity if it comes back as a worse version in the winter.

@nursetim:

Oh yeah. That's why they recommend flu shots for elderly, youngsters and immune-compromised patients. The flu can really rack you out if you're already sick.

I hope your daughter is feeling better soon.