Many Swine Flu Cases Have No Fever

[nadinbrzezinski]

Many people suffering from swine influenza, even those who are severely ill, do not have fever, an odd feature of the new virus that could increase the difficulty of controlling the epidemic, said a leading American infectious-disease expert who examined cases in Mexico last week.

Enlarge This Image

Nicky Loh/Reuters
In April, medical workers at Taoyuan Airport, in northern Taiwan, checked passengers for fever.
Fever is a hallmark of influenza, often rising abruptly to 104 degrees at the onset of illness. Because many infectious-disease experts consider fever the most important sign of the disease, the presence of fever is a critical part of screening patients.

But about a third of the patients at two hospitals in Mexico City where the American expert, Dr. Richard P. Wenzel, consulted for four days last week had no fever when screened, he said.

“It surprised me and my Mexican colleagues, because the textbooks say that in an influenza outbreak the predictive value of fever and cough is 90 percent,” Dr. Wenzel said by telephone from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, where he is chairman of the department of internal medicine.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/13/health/13fever.html?_r=2&hp

Oh and the WHO and CDC may call it A-H1N1, called it, that piggy left the barn a while ago...

Oh and necessary disclaimer, if this scares you, I am sorry, if you need to belittle it, I am also sorry

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Got bug error so registering in my DU page