Up until today it was thought household pets couldn’t catch the H1N1 virus (also known as swine flu), but an Iowa cat has just proved earlier assumptions wrong!

The 13-year-old indoor house cat, who has fully recovered from the illness, reportedly caught the virus from one of two human household members who were sick with H1N1. It isn’t believed that the cat has passed the virus on to anyone — or anything! — else. An IDPH Public Health veterinarian says it’s actually not that unexpected, and that other flu strains have been found in cats before.
Up until today the H1N1 virus …read more

Almost half of patients (46%) who are hospitalized because of the H1N1 virus (swine flu) are otherwise healthy adults with no chronic illnesses such as asthma. This study or 1400 adults (and 500 children) goes against a previously release study found in the New England Journal of Medicine earlier this month. This much smaller study (272 patients) said that 83% of adults and 60% of children had underlying conditions. The second study was done by the Centers of Disease Control (CDC).
Among the adults:

26% had asthma
8% had another chronic lung disease
10% had diabetes
8% had weakened immune systems
6% were pregnant

Among children, …read more

The Swine Flu, aka H1N1, has been definitely leaving a mark in history and finally it seems that someone is going to try to stop it. Cities around the country will be having access to the vaccine this Friday, many schools will even offer it right inside the nurse’s office.
My question is will your son or daughter get the swine flu shot? If you did not plan on getting the shot will you allow the school to administer the shot to your child? Why or why not?
Fox News Reports:
Some believe the vaccine was rushed and not adequately tested. Others just …read more

With the new school year and Fall here I can’t help but wonder if schools will actually close because of the swine flu or the common flu. How many of you are curious if thse “flu symptoms” will be ignored and no notices will be sent home in the fear parents will take their children out of school?
Keep in mind that schools actually get paid per student that is actually in school for that day.  It was already stated that schools were not to close due to the swine flu, however it is already looking like schools are doing what …read more

With Fall upon us many kids will come home with a bad cough, runny nose, sneezes and of course the fever. What’s a mom or dad to do during times like this?
Plenty of soup and vitamin C is definitely on the list of good things to add to your child’s daily schedule but what happens when that isn’t enough?
Every year parents have to deal with the common cold and flu symptoms and worry about the time off they’ll have to need to take care of their child. But with the swine flu outbreak earlier this year now taking a front …read more

If you’ve been waiting for the H1N1 (swine flu) nasal flu vaccine, FluMist, it will be available next week in some parts of the United States, but in limited quantities as this is the first shipment.
Different states have different strategies for who will be the first to be vaccinated, either by FluMist or the traditional injection. Some states, such as Illinois want to vaccinate their first responders, while others, such as Alaska, want to vaccinate the preschoolers first. Pennsylvania will be targeting it’s elementary school-age children first.
The FluMist isn’t for everyone. Because it contains a weakened live virus, it is …read more

Three times in the past six days (that includes the weekend) the school nurse at my son’s elementary school has called me, and three times I’ve had to pick up my little boy from school. He’s not sick. If anything, he was a little stuffy. The first two check-outs were due to him spitting up mucus – a ritual he does every time he cries heartily or wakes up stuffy from a cold or allergies. The last time was from the scabby crust that formed on the end of his nose – just in time for school picture day. The …read more

Is it flu season again, or has it just never left?  The US Customs & Border Protection service is issuing some guidelines and warnings for the season, that includes some preparation for the H1N1 Virus (Swine Flu).
The service is echoing the position of the CDC, and strongly encouraging everyone to get a traditional flu vaccine as soon as possible.  These shots are available in a number of places, and are generally very reasonably priced.  You’ll find them through your work, at your doctor’s office or clinic, at your neighborhood pharmacy, supermarket, and community center.  If you don’t know where …read more

In the first three weeks of school, my son was home sick for four days. The second week of school he had strep throat. The following week he came home with a high fever, chills, and was lethargic and vomiting. Normally, I’d feed him Tylenol and baby him unless his symptoms got worse. But N1H1, the feared swine flu, is making its way through the Southeast. Virtually all flu cases at this time are considered to be the Swine flu by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). I had heard too many stories of otherwise healthy people dying because of …read more

The swine flu, aka H1N1, only goes back to april 2009 but it has
already marked itself in our history books. So far there have been 1,154 deaths from the Swine flu around the world. (according to a CNN report from August 5th, more have died since then)
With this month being the month for kids to start back in school, many will be coming in touch with others that have bad germs and bring it home. Dr. Erika Schwartz has stated that the CDC reported 436 deaths and 6,506 hospitalizations from the swine flu alone. With the opening of the school year how …read more