Allergy Dude's Allergy and Asthma Assortments

Allergic diseases are very common and include allergic rhinitis (hay fever), atopic dermatitis (eczema), urticaria (hives), chronic sinusitis (infections), asthma, food allergies, drug allergies, insect allergies, and anaphylaxis (life-threatening allergic reactions). If people knew what they were allergic to, and took proper preventative measures, they would not have nearly the amount of suffering or medication use. Here are ideas to help people understand how they can live healthier lives.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Swine Flu Epidemic Update 36

Some interesting notes:
1. The CDC announced that about 15% of the U.S. population has had swine flu. The number of cases appears to be declining since late October. Almost 10,000 people have died from swine flu or complications from swine flu. The age breakdown is instructive. Deaths: 0-17 y/o about 11%, 18-64 about 75%, >65 y/o about 13%. In contrast, with regular influenza, >90% of deaths are in the >65 y/o category. The numbers of deaths roughly parallels the number of cases and of hospitalizations.
2. Today there was an announcement that some lots of vaccine from Sanofi-Aventis did not contain enough antigen as required. The CDC is NOT recommending that people who were vaccinated from these lots be re-vaccinated.