Jamaica is now on H1N1 (Influenza A) alert as swine
flu is now a serious killer as reported in the article “Health
Ministry Issues Warning As Swine Flu Spreads” Published Sunday March 6,
2016, The Jamaica Gleaner.
And yes we're still tackling Dengue fever, Zika
virus (ZIKV), chikungunya (CHIKV) as pointed out in the article “Jamaica
on high alert”, published Sunday, March 06, 2016 by Anika Richards, The Jamaica Observer.
Now comes news of a fourth death from H1N1
(Influenza A). This time, it's a 29-y-o woman pregnant with twins as reported
in the article “Woman
Pregnant With Twins Dies From Swine Flu”, published Saturday March 5, 2016,
The Jamaica Gleaner.
The first to die was Dr. Suzanna Roye, a 50 year old
doctor who died sometime before Saturday February 20th 2016 as reported in my blog article
entitled “Why
Dr. Suzanna Roye died from Influenza A (H1N1) as Ministry of Health stocks up
on Tamiflu”.
29-y-o woman pregnant with twins is now the fourth
person to have died from H1N1 at the UWHI (University Hospital of the West
Indies) over a period of three (3) weeks as reported in the article “Jamaica
records third swine flu-related death”, published Saturday, March 05, 2016,
The Jamaica Observer, making
H1N1's kill rate almost as fast as Jamaica's murder rate.
This is happening despite assurances from Chief
Medical Officer Dr Winston De la Haye that they have adequate medication to
treat the H1N1 (Influenza A) Virus as reported in the article “No
Shortage Of H1N1 Medication - De La Haye”, published Monday February 22,
2016, The Jamaica Gleaner.
So who are the other two people died over the course
of three weeks from this fast spreading killer virus?
H1N1
kills four in 3 weeks - How Ministry of Health has no medication to fight
H1N1
There is now a total of thirty five (35) Jamaican
infected with H1N1:
1. 28
adults
2. 7
Children
After Dr. Suzanna Roye, a 49-year-old woman died a
week later at the UHWI as reported in the article “JUST
IN: Jamaica Records Second Swine Flu-Related Death”, Published Sunday
February 28, 2016, by Jovan Johnson, The
Jamaica Gleaner.
Then on Saturday October 5th 2016, a 84-year-old
woman died from H1N1 (Influenza A). H1N1 isn’t targeting the elderly; they all
died from weakened immune systems due to other underlying factors.
The disease mainly targets the following people:
1. Elderly
2. Infants
3. Persons
with chronic medical conditions, such as heart, lung, kidney disease, and
diabetes and Asthma
4. Pregnant
women
5. Young
children
So why are we hearing about this just now?
H1N1
got no extensive Press Coverage - Jamaica occupied with Jamaica General
Elections 2016
This story didn't get much press as the news was
flooded with news of the General Election which was barely won by the JLP
(Jamaica Labour Party) with 32 seats versus 31 from the PNP (People's National
Party) as reported in “Awesome
Andrew - JLP Beats PNP At Its Own Game, Organisation”, Published Sunday
February 28, 2016 by Gary Spaulding, The
Jamaica Gleaner.
Clearly Tamiflu isn't effective as it really only treats
the symptoms of H1N1. Also, it might not have any effect on this current strain
of the virus. Also, the national H1N1 plan make no mention of vaccination
against the disease as noted in the article “H1N1
– What You Need To Know; National Influenza Plan Activated”, published
Wednesday February 24, 2016, The Jamaica
Gleaner.
So how do you prevent yourself and your loved ones
from getting sick?
How
to fight H1N1 (Influenza A) - Vitamins to boost your immune system
Good to note that the Influenza A (H1N1) isn't
airborne but spread via your aerosolized body fluids i.e. saliva or sputum.
This is ejected from the mouth or nose of the infected patient. Once it lands
on a commonly used surface e.g. tables, chairs or doorknobs which other people
touch, spreading Influenza A (H1N1) viral particles becomes as simple as
touching these surfaces.
Doctors, Health care workers and regular Jamaicans
can reduce the spread of Influenza A (H1N1) virus by doing the following:
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
98% of persons infected with Influenza A (H1N1)
rarely show symptoms as noted in the article “Leicester
Royal Infirmary closes wards over swine flu”, published 18 February 2016, BBC.
The remaining 2% tend to have the following
symptoms:
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
Good to note that these drugs do not kill the virus
but merely treat the symptoms as follows:
1. Panadol/Tylenol
is an Acetaminophen and is taken to relieve the Muscle and joint pains
2. DPH,
claritine [loratidine], cetirizine, or fexofenadine with pseudoephedrine is
used to reduce sneezing and the production of mucus and sputum
Alternatively, you can buy Pineapple and make your
own cough syrup by blending the whole pineapple as noted in my blog article
entitled “Why
JP Tropical Foods Pineapples will be a hit in Jamaica this Christmas”.
Finally, taking multivitamins such as Vitamin C and
Vitamin B Complex will help to boost your immune system and allow you to
survive as this killer goes on a rampage.
No comments:
Post a Comment