A Palo Alto nursing facility continues to operate under quarantine

[seemslikeadream]

http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_12191706


Palo Alto nursing facility under quarantine
By Diana Samuels


Daily News Staff Writer

Posted: 04/21/2009 11:38:51 AM PDT
Updated: 04/21/2009 11:38:52 AM PDT



A Palo Alto nursing facility continues to operate under quarantine after several patients had flu-like symptoms last week.

Administrators at Lytton Gardens Senior Communities closed its 145-bed skilled nursing facility to outsiders Saturday morning in consultation with the county's health department, said skilled nursing administrator Linda Hibbs.

Hibbs said she'd heard about a wave of flu passing through the community and decided to be cautious.

Only one additional patient has come down with a fever since the original cases, Hibbs said. Most of the original patients have recovered, she said.

The quarantine will extend through at least Thursday, Hibbs said. Nursing home administrators will then evaluate the situation, and could extend the quarantine until Saturday because the flu virus' incubation period lasts several days.

[NightWatcher]

1. isnt this late for the flu?

I thought it was a winter-early spring thing

[Speck Tater]

3. Recent studies suggest

it's a sunlight/vitamin D thing. Thus higher incidence in winter. However, nursing home patients often stay indoors and don't get sunlight enough to make their own vitamin D.

[FirstLight]

2. Considering the WHO involvement in the "swine flu" cases...

this is not good.

anybody read "The Stand?"

[tekisui]

4. Thanks for keeping up on this. WHO alert level to move from 3 to 4

"We need to know how the virus is spread, what is the transmission pattern and whether or not it is going to cause severe disease and in what age group," she said.

An emergency committee of 15 experts was meeting on Saturday to advise her about any "temporary measures" to protect international health or whether to recommend a change in the WHO's pandemic alert level, currently 3 on a scale of 1 to 6.

It was "too premature at this stage" for the WHO to announce any travel advisories, as better analysis of the cases and other clinical data was required, she said. But the experts would address the issue of travel advisories.

"We do not yet have a complete picture of the epidemiology or the risk, including possible spread beyond the currently affected areas," Chan said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSLP31018720090425?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0

Most of the dead are aged 25 to 45.

[kickysnana]

5. Quarenteen in nursing homes happens often. It just doesn't make the news.

I live in a senior apartment building and folks revolve in and out of two nursing homes close by. Many others are volunteers and there are two employees. There have been two "quarantines" since Dec 1st and what that means is protocol for not moving a virus between sections of the nursing home.

[tekisui]

6. It may have spead to 75 in Queens, NY

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1682359/swine_flu_from_mexico_spreads_to_new.html

[Purveyor]

8. IF these NY cases turn out to be the Mexican swine flu, we have a serious situation on our hands. nt

[tekisui]

9. It is not looking good.

Hopefully it's unrelated. We'll know it time.

[tekisui]

10. As many as 300 students have reported they were suffering from flu-like symptoms

QUEENS, N.Y. (WPIX) -- The Health Department is monitoring an outbreak of flu at St. Francis Prep in Fresh Meadows, Queens to see if the students may have come down with the swine flu virus.

As many as 300 students have reported they were suffering from flu-like symptoms. Some of the students told PIX News they recently visited Mexico. The flu outbreak forced school officials to cancel an event called "International Night," which was scheduled for Friday night. A thousand people has been expecting to attend.

There are reports that initial tests on some of the students have come back negative for swine flu and that they may be suffering from a regular strain of the virus unrelated to the those cases from Mexico.

http://www.wpix.com/landing/?Hundreds-of-Students-at-Queens-School-Co=1&blockID=275362&feedID=1404

[Retrograde]

7. Just down the street!

I walk past it everyday, and I'm getting over some "flu-like" symptoms. Coincidence? I certainly hope so!

Seriously, I hope it's just erring on the side of caution. We do, however, have a large Mexican population here, and with people returning from holiday visits back home I can see how the Mexican strain can travel quickly.