Canadian Sailor with flu symptoms dies in NH

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Canadian+sailor+with+flu+symptons+dies&articleId=5e3d9d7c-8b46-41d1-9981-9c2b5c64da2c


News tips & feedbackCanadian sailor with flu symptons dies

Sunday, Feb. 25, 2007


A Canadian sailor who had been complaining of flu-like symptoms was stricken on board a cargo ship docked at Sprague Energy in Portsmouth Harbor yesterday and later pronounced dead at Portsmouth Regional Hospital, a fire official said.

Rescue crews responded after getting a 911 emergency call from the ship about 7:30 a.m., Newington Fire Lt. Dale Sylvia said.

The crew member, a Canadian national, was unconscious, had no pulse and was not breathing when Newington firefighters began cardiopulmunary resuscitation and advanced life support, he said.

Since the sailor had complained of flu-like symptoms for about a week, firefighters wore protective masks as a precaution to guard against airborne hazards, Sylvia said.

Firefighters were unable to resuscitate the sailor and later was pronounced dead at the hospital. A hospital employee said the state Medical Examiner's Office now is handling the case and provided no further details.

Fire officials withheld the crew member's name and age until his family could be notified.

The cargo ship was transporting gypsum, Sylvia said.

Neither the state epidemiologist or the on-duty public health nurse were notified of the death, which indicates the death at this point is not linked to any of the category of reportable diseases, said Gregory Moore, spokesman for the state health and human services department.

Regular influenza, which typically kills 200 to 300 people a year in the state, is not a reportable disease, he said. Those who tend to die from the flu are either very young or old and have compromised immune systems.

"People who are working on cargo ships ... typically tend to be pretty hardy," Moore said.

He noted there are other communicable diseases that have flu-like symptoms, such as bacterial meningitis.

If tests show the death was caused by a "higher level of disease," it would be reported to the state, Moore said.

If there are any updates, I will post them.

Ok am curious as to where he traveled from.

thankful
No need to worry our little heads as "It only happens in less developed countries"
"It is almost impossible to transmit human to human"
"It mainly happens in people who live with their birds in close conditions"

"We have modern hospitals and a vaccine is on its way!"

All the above are the responses we know that we will get from TPTB.

Hooray for us and lets keep dancing on the top of the volcano!

Wish I had a sarcastic smilie - just glad I managed to order Amantadine online yesterday as I know I will not get a doctor's appointment when TSHTF!

It turns out that gypsum comes from Canada and other countries. Since this sailor was Canadian, my hunch is that this shipment came in from Canada. That brought my concern level down quite a bit.