How Jamaican Female Doctor Dead from Swine flu and Why H1N1 spreading through Jamaica

Well folks, for those of you in the loop, the H1N1 Virus is in Jamaica as reported Thursday February 11^th 2016.

So a quick recap is in order in case you were living under a rock since the start of February 2016 in fear of the Zika Virus as noted in my blog article entitled “How Jamaica's February 2016 Sports Calendar will help spread the Zika Virus”.

The first case of Influenza A (H1N1), also known as Swine Flu, is actually two patients, a 10 month old child and an adult as reported in the article “10-Month-Old Child, Adult Admitted To UHWI With Swine Flu”, published Thursday February 11, 2016, The Jamaica Gleaner.

Both had been transferred to the UHWI (University Hospital of the West Indies) from Mandeville. Since that first case, some nine (9) more have been confirmed Thursday, February 18, 2016 by Acting Chief Medical Officer at the Ministry of Health, Dr Winston De La Haye as reported in the article “9 cases of H1N1 virus confirmed – Chief Medical Officer”, published Thursday, February 18, 2016, The Jamaica Observer. 

All of who are being treated at the UHWI.

Clearly, the Influenza A (H1N1) is spreading rapidly in Jamaica and most likely may have come via Jamaican travelling from Trinidad and Tobago where the virus has already killed three (3) persons as reported in my blog article entitled “29 infected 3 dead from H1N1 in Trinidad - How the Influenza A (H1N1) virus can come to Jamaica”. 

So do we have to be fearful of the Influenza A (H1N1) aka Swine Flu?

H1N1 kills a Jamaican - How the H1N1 Virus is now more important than Zika

Now for the bad news; one of the patients has died as reported on Saturday February 20th 2016, albeit no one is sure if it from H1N1 as noted in the article “Patient being treated for H1N1 dies”, published Saturday, February 20, 2016, The Jamaica Observer.

Strangely, the victim isn't the original 10 month old child and an adult or any of the nine originally reported on Thursday, February 18, 2016. Rather, the victim is a doctor who was treating the patients infected with H1N1 as noted in the article “Doctor First To Die From Swine Flu-Related Issues, Illness Now On High Alert List”, published Saturday February 20, 2016, The Jamaica Gleaner.

The female doctor who died is one of two (2) female doctors transferred via helicopter to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) at the UHWI from Mandeville. The other female doctor is responding well to treatment and is recovering slowly.

Ok, so now that the H1N1 Virus is a confirmed killer, what can we do to avoid getting sick?

H1N1 Virus – Avoid physical contact and stock up on Vitamin C and Vitamin B12 complex

Since then, the H1N1 Virus has been upgraded from a Category II to a Category I illness.

This means that as soon as an infected patient is diagnosed with the illness, the hospital has to report it to the Ministry of Health within 24 hours instead of 1 week.

The symptoms of the Influenza A (H1N1) virus are as follows:

1.      Dry cough

2.      Headache

3.      High fever

4.      Muscle and joint pains

5.      Runny nose

6.      Sore throat

7.      Tiredness

8.      Unwell feeling

Most people recover after one or two weeks with Doctors prescribing the following drugs for the above symptoms:

1.      Panadol/Tylenol

2.      DPH

3.      Claritine [loratidine]

4.      Cetirizine

5.      Fexofenadine

Panadol/Tylenol is an Acetaminophen and is taken to relieve the Muscle and joint pains. DPH, claritine [loratidine], cetirizine, or fexofenadine with pseudoephedrine is used to reduce sneezing and the production of mucus and sputum.

Alternatively, you can use highly concentrated Garlic and Pineapple juice direct from the pineapple to treat the cough as noted in my blog article entitled “Why JP Tropical Foods Pineapples will be a hit in Jamaica this Christmas”. 

The disease becomes a killer when it infects someone with a weak immune system i.e.:

1.      Elderly

2.      Infants

3.      Persons with chronic medical conditions, such as heart, lung, kidney disease, diabetes and Asthma

4.      Pregnant women

5.      Young children

Prevention, not treatment, is best as this virus is transmitted through contact with the fluids of the infected persons. There are several things that both the public as well as health care workers can use to reduce the spread of Influenza A (H1N1) virus:

1.      Avoid contact with persons with flu-like symptoms

2.      Avoid intimate contact including hand shaking and kissing

3.      Cover your mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing

4.      Health care workers wearing specialized masks and other PPE

5.      Wash your hands frequently and properly

Bulking up on Vitamin C and B12 Complex can also help, as fruit and vegetables cannot supply enough to ward off these infections as noted in my blog article entitled “Vitamin C and the Chikungunya Virus - How to increase your Vitamin C Intake, Glutathione and Interferon by White Blood Cells”. 

As for me, I'm making plans to buy some more Vitamin B12 complex, as my stash is running out………..