Mystery illness claims 4 lives in Montgomery County

[noZme]

TX
According to the health department, all of the patients have had flu-like and/or pneumonia like symptoms. However, all of them have tested negative for the flu.

There have been eight confirmed patients ranging in age from 41 to 68. Four of those patients have died.
http://montgomerycountypolicereporter.com/mystery-illness-claims-4-lives-in-montgomery-county/


http://www.wfaa.com/news/health/236215121.html

 

[angela]

Thus stuff really scares me. I hope they can figure it out. Hantavirus? I wonder if the patients were from the same family.

 

[meanmaryjean]

My first thoughts are hantavirus or SARS-like disease. There's a new iteration of SARS, cannot remember the precise name. Scary!

 

[hambirg]

I'd like to know if any of the eight have any connections. . .family members, visited the same restaurant, store etc.

It's hard to say what it could be without knowing more. My first thought is always some type of virus, but why these 8 people?

I hope they figure it out soon.

 

[angela]

There was also a mysterious illness that killed 2 healthy young athletes in Houston earlier this year. I can't find a follow up to see if this mystery was ever solved.

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/new...llness-linked-to-2-deaths-doctors-4507149.php

 

[animlzrule]

I wonder if it's the MERS virus. Haven't heard that it's made it to the States, but I'm guessing they're going to suspect it as a possibility. Wonder what, if any, travel history the patients have/had. There was quite a bit of publicity earlier this year…..


What are the symptoms of MERS?
A: Most people who got infected with MERS-CoV developed severe acute respiratory illness with symptoms of fever, cough, and shortness of breath. About half of them died. Some people were reported as having a mild respiratory illness.

More at link:

http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/mers/faq.html

 

[txsvicki]

All patients are past middle age. Older. I wonder if younger ones have it, but just don't get as sick. This is scary, and it's in Texas.

 

[CHERIE.T]

Weird and sad. This type thing frightens the mess out of me.
Praying this is figured out.

 

[Gardenlady]

Crazy scary! I know it's onky a small number infected, but 50% death rate?

 

[Snoods]

This is where I live! It's pretty scary. All four deaths have been males between the ages of 41 and 68. I don't know exactly where the victims lived, but we do have a lot of rural areas; horses, cows, goats and a lot of woods with deer and all your other typical varmints. When my son played football at Montgomery High School it was next to a cow pasture and you could hear the cows mooing lol.

When I went to the pharmacy today there was a line of people getting the flu shot.

http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/cour...cle_4c0109f8-0b50-5540-b61f-64b47b25f3d6.html

 

[21merc7]

So scary. I hope they find out what it is quickly so all infected can get treatment rapidly.

Found this link for the locals.

http://montgomerycountypolicereporter.com/update-influenza-like-illness-arises-montgomery-county/

I know it is the season of shopping, parties, and traveling. Please do try to avoid exposure as much as possible. Take the time to wipe the handle of shopping carts, put some wipes and Purell in the car for wiping and Purelling once done in the stores or out anywhere. It doesn't hurt to get some disposable face masks, but most people feel uncomfortable wearing them. If you are higher risk, get some, drugstores have them, WalMart has them in the first aid section usually.

 

[Herding Cats]

Crazy scary! I know it's onky a small number infected, but 50% death rate?

Take a breath, GL darling. It looks like it's a 50% mortality, but what we don't know is how many folks have/had it, and didn't get sick enough to get treatment...that was something I learned when we had that nasty flu from Mexico - we don't know how many folks were exposed/got sick, but not enough to even go see a Dr. let alone get hospitalized.

I'd also like to know more about the patients...underlying disease process? Lifestyle similarities? Et cetera.

Still, it's scary...

Best-
Herding Cats

 

[Snoods]

Mystery illness may be H1N1, which was referred to as "Swine Flu" in 2009.

Quote from article:
At least one of the eight patients being treated for a mysterious illness at Conroe Regional Medical Center has tested positive for H1N1, according to Montgomery County health officials.
It's the same strain of H1N1 that caused a pandemic in 2009. Doctors have been seeing hundreds of new cases recently in Texas and nationwide. In fact, H1N1 is one of the viruses included in this year's flu shot.
The patient diagnosed with H1N1 is still alive. Two other surviving Conroe patients tested negative for H1N1. The results are still pending for one patient.


http://www.khou.com/news/local/Heal...y-illness-diagnosed-with-H1N1--236459811.html

 

[Gracenote]

This is where I live! It's pretty scary. All four deaths have been males between the ages of 41 and 68. I don't know exactly where the victims lived, but we do have a lot of rural areas; horses, cows, goats and a lot of woods with deer and all your other typical varmints. When my son played football at Montgomery High School it was next to a cow pasture and you could hear the cows mooing lol.

When I went to the pharmacy today there was a line of people getting the flu shot.

http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/cour...cle_4c0109f8-0b50-5540-b61f-64b47b25f3d6.html

Thank you; it frustrates me when I can't tell where the news item is from. I'm sitting up in bed with the flu wondering where the heck this is happening. LOL I'm in GA but God bless the people who have this.