H1N1 flu in children

From BabyCenter:

Adapted in part from H1N1 flu information provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

What is swine flu?

Swine flu is a new type of flu caused by an influenza (“flu”) virus that was first detected in people in the United States in April 2009.

In June 2009, when the new virus had spread to more than 70 countries, the World Health Organization raised the worldwide alert level for novel influenza A/H1N1 (a.k.a. swine flu) to Phase 6, signaling that a global pandemic was under way. Since then, the virus has spread to many more countries.

The symptoms of swine flu are similar to those of “regular” or “seasonal” flu – the kind that plagues us every year in the fall and winter months.

How the swine flu virus spreads

The swine flu virus is spreading from person-to-person worldwide in much the same way that seasonal flu viruses spread: from person to person through coughs and sneezes. Typically, droplets from a cough or sneeze of an infected person are propelled through the air and land on the mouth or nose of someone nearby.

It’s also spread by touching something (or someone) that has droplets on it and then touching your own mouth or nose (or someone else’s mouth or nose, such as your child's) before washing your hands.

That's why hand washing is so important!

Know the signs and symptoms of swine flu infection

Swine flu symptoms in children and adults are pretty much the same as those for seasonal flu:

• Fever
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Body aches
• Headaches
• Chills and fatigue
• Sometimes, diarrhea and vomiting

If you develop the flu, you probably won't have all those symptoms, but you're likely to have some combination of them. Also keep in mind that these can be symptoms of illnesses that are not the flu. So symptoms alone may not be enough to diagnose the flu, and only a laboratory test can determine whether it's swine flu (H1N1) or another flu virus. So if a flu does strike your family, the chances are you'll never know whether your child (or you) had swine flu.

The American Academy of Pediatrics points out that a child with a high fever but no nasal symptoms may have the flu – while having nasal symptoms with no fever probably indicates a cold. See our article on seasonal flu in children for a detailed description of flu symptoms and how to tell whether your child has the flu or another illness.

What to do if your child gets sick

Here’s what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends if your child develops some or all of the symptoms described above:

• If your child is 5 or older and otherwise healthy and develops what appear to be flu symptoms, consult your doctor as needed and make sure your child gets plenty of rest and drinks enough fluids.
• If your child is under 5, or is any age and has a medical condition like asthma, diabetes, or a neurologic problem and develops symptoms, call your doctor right away or get medical attention. Kids under 5 and kids who have chronic medical conditions may be at higher risk of serious complications from any type of flu, including swine flu.

If you have concerns, err on the side of calling your doctor. You know your child best, so trust your instincts.

Signs of a medical emergency

Certain symptoms in children are a sign that urgent medical help may be needed. Watch for these warning signs in kids and get help immediately if they happen:

• Fast breathing or trouble breathing
• Bluish or gray skin color
• Signs of dehydration such as not drinking much, not urinating as much as usual, or (in infants) a lack of tears when crying
• Severe or persistent vomiting
• Not waking up normally or interacting normally
• Being so irritable that they don’t want to be held
• Flu-like symptoms get better but then return with fever and worse cough

Parents and caregivers should also watch out for symptoms of flu in themselves. Adults are advised to seek urgent medical help for these symptoms:

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
• Sudden dizziness
• Confusion
• Severe or persistent vomiting
• Flu-like symptoms that improve but then return with fever and worse cough

How to protect your family from swine flu

• Get yourself and your children vaccinated as soon as a vaccine becomes available. It takes a while for immunity to develop after you get the vaccine.
• Wash your hands and your children’s hands frequently, including immediately before eating, after sneezing, and after going to the bathroom. Use proper hand-washing techniques, rubbing both sides of your soapy hands for at least 15 seconds and rinsing with plenty of water. When soap and water aren’t available, use alcohol-based gel sanitizers that contain at least 60 percent alcohol or disposable hand wipes.
• Don't cough or sneeze into your bare hands. That puts the virus is all over your hands, where it can easily spread to others. Instead, cover your mouth with your arm and cough or sneeze into your sleeve or cover your nose and mouth with a disposable tissue and throw it away after using. (Many experts say the sleeve method is better than using a tissue, because handling a tissue can contaminate your hands and spread illness.) If you inadvertently use your bare hands, wash them right away.
• Don't touch your eyes, nose, or mouth. You may think your hands are clean, but if your hands have touched a door knob, a cup, a refrigerator handle or any other item that someone else has touched with a virus-covered hand, your hands carry the virus and can infect you.
• Viruses and bacteria can live two to eight hours on hard surfaces. Wipe down surfaces at home such as toys, bedside tables, doorknobs, telephones, and bathroom and kitchen counters with a disinfectant, following directions on the label.
• Keep your children at least 6 feet away from people who are sick, including anyone in your household who is sick. Know the symptoms of swine flu and seek medical care if illness is severe. If you catch it early, antiviral medicines may help.

Who's most likely to get a severe case of the new swine flu?

The people most at risk from H1N1 (swine) flu are probably the same as those most at risks from seasonal flu:

• Children under 5
• People 65 and older
• People under 18 who are receiving long-term aspirin therapy and might be at risk for Reye's syndrome after flu virus infection
• Pregnant women
• Adults and children who have asthma or chronic pulmonary, cardiovascular, hepatic, hematological, neurologic, neuromuscular, or metabolic disorders such as diabetes
• Adults and children whose immune systems are suppressed (including immunosuppression caused by medications or HIV)
• Residents of nursing homes and other chronic-care facilities.

Why is swine flu also called H1N1 flu?

“Swine flu” remains the popular term outside of scientific circles, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control now calls the virus “novel H1N1” to distinguish it from other viruses that affect people and pigs. It was called swine flu at first because many of the genes in the new virus appeared similar to swine flu viruses found in pigs in North America.

Further study showed that the new virus is quite different from North American pig viruses. Instead, it has two genes from flu viruses found in pigs in Europe and Asia, along with genes from birds and from humans.

Is swine flu worse than seasonal flu?

From the flurry of publicity about swine flu, you might think it’s a more severe disease than seasonal flu. The reality? Here’s what we know right now:

Millions of people in the United States — about 5 to 20 percent —come down with seasonal flu every year. An average of 36,000 die and more than 200,000 have to be admitted to the hospital as a result of influenza-related causes. As for the effects of H1N1 (swine) flu on our population, it’s simply too early to tell how it will compare.

So far, most people who come down with swine flu cope with it just fine and recover without special medical care. But, like regular (“seasonal”) flu, it can become serious. At its worst, the new swine flu can lead to pneumonia, respiratory failure, and even death.

Pregnant women and children are among the most vulnerable to any type of flu and should take every precaution to avoid infection, including getting the vaccine if and when it’s available.

Babies younger than 6 months can’t be vaccinated, but their caregivers can help the tiniest babies stay healthy by getting vaccinated themselves.

Where to get more information about swine flu

Information about swine flu (H1N1 flu) changes frequently.

See all our articles, the latest headines, and more about swine flu.

You may also want to visit the the federal government's Flu.gov site, visit the extensive swine flu section of the CDC's website, or call the CDC 24 hours a day at (800) 232-4636 (800-CDC-INFO).

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Swine flu vaccine now available for kids

Tue, Oct 6, 2009 — U.S. children age 2 and older can now receive the H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine, which is arriving at distribution centers across the country this week.

The first shipments of the vaccine consist of about two million doses of a nasal spray called FluMist. Children younger than 2 shouldn't receive this form of the vaccine, but it's safe for those 2 and older. The nasal spray vaccine is not recommended for pregnant women.

Children old enough to get the nasal spray safely and adults who care for infants are being encouraged to get their vaccinations now, according to the CDC.

Next week, the first doses of the injectable version of the vaccine will start being shipped, said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The shot can be given to children 6 months and older. It's also safe for pregnant women.

Even when the shot becomes available, children 9 years old and younger may need a series of two shots in order to be fully immune.

The CDC is working to assure the public that the vaccine is safe and effective -- and that no serious side effects have been reported.

According to Frieden, the most common myths about getting the H1N1 vaccine include the notions that the H1N1 flu is typically mild and that the vaccine's testing was rushed. Both are incorrect, Frieden said.

"Flu is not a mild illness," he said. "Some people may die from it."

"We have cut no corners," said Frieden. "This flu vaccine is made as the flu vaccine is made each year, by the same companies, in the same production facilities, with the same procedures, with the same safety safeguards." He added that the CDC has a "high degree of confidence" in the vaccine's safety.

"Flu vaccine is our best tool to protect against the flu," Frieden said.

Jessica Kelmon, BabyCenter News

Jury Duty Scam

Hang up...DO NOT GIVE OUT ANY INFORMATION

Jury Duty Scam

DO NOT DELETE WITHOUT READING !

Pass this on to your grown children.
This has been verified by the FBI (their link is also included below).

Please pass this on to everyone in your email address book. It is
spreading fast so be prepared should you get this call. Most of us
take those summonses for jury duty seriously, but enough people skip
out on their civic duty, that a new and ominous kind of fraud has
surfaced.
The caller claims to be a jury coordinator. . If you protest that you
never received a summons for jury duty, the Scammer asks you for your
Social Security number and date of birth so he or she can verify the
information and cancel the arrest warrant. Give out any of this
information and bingo; your identity was just stolen.
The fraud has been reported so far in 11 states, including Oklahoma ,
Illinois , and Colorado This (swindle) is particularly insidious
because they use intimidation over the phone to try to bully people
into giving information by pretending they are with the court system..

The FBI and the federal court system have issued nationwide alerts on
their web sites, warning consumers about the fraud. Check it out here:
http://www.fbi. gov/page2/ june06/jury_ scams060206. ht m>
http://www.FBI. gov/page2/ june06/jury_ scams060206. htm
And here:
http://www.snopes. com/crime/ fraud/juryduty. asp>
http://www.snopes/ ..com/crime/ fraud/juryduty. asp

Job Lead-Accountant Chipotle Westerville

Pam Holmes of the Westerville 1st Ward told me that there is an Account office here in Westerville, Ohio where she works and they are hiring for a Fixed Asset Accounting position. You can contact her for more information - (614) 899-2645

Thanks,

Jay R.
Westerville 1st Ward Employment Specialist

A JOB FAIR TUES. OCT 13th @ 3.pm @ DUBLIN

I have learned that there is going to be a job fair at Fiserv (formerly Check Free) in Dublin on Tuesday, October 13 at 3pm. The address is 6000 Perimeter Drive, Dublin, OH 43017. The phone number is 614-564-3000. I suggest that you call before you go to confirm.

Below is a link to the open jobs at Fiserv from their website. Click on the Dublin, OH location and don't select a job category and you'll see the eight job openings that are currently available.

https://checkfreeco rp.tms.hrdepartm ent.com/cgi- bin/a/searchjobs _quick.cgi

As we discussed a the workshop on Saturday, honing in on a large company in the Columbus area like this is a great way to focus your job search. Each of them has a website that is updated often and is used as a first notification of job openings (before the jobs to go Monster.com, the Dispatch or Craigslist.com.)

This info is from Ancestors.com

"Historical Newspapers, Birth, Marriage, & Death Announcements, 1851-2003

By Juliana Smith 08 October 2009

Email Print

We are so fortunate to have so much information at our fingertips these days. We can sit at home all comfy cozy in our pajamas and search through billions of records whenever we get the impulse. Yes, for the twenty-first century family historian, life is good.

Every now and then though, our ancestors make us work for it. Searching with my sister for information on her husband’s line, we had a hard time finding a death record for his great-great-grandmother. We had found Christine Walser in the 1930 Census in Chicago, living with her daughter at the age of 71. Ancestry.com has a Cook County, Illinois Death Index, 1908-1988, and had hoped to find her death record in that database.

No such luck. This was one of those times we’d have to work a little for the information.

Fortunately, there is an alternate source available for death information in Chicago, and several other large cities. Historical Newspapers, Birth, Marriage, & Death Announcements, 1851-2003 is a collection of birth, marriage, and death clippings from newspapers. We were able to locate Christine’s death notice in “The Chicago Tribune” and while it didn’t give us the exact date of death, based on the publication date of 05 January 1941, we can estimate that she died on or near that date. It also gave her burial date and the location of the cemetery, so contacting the cemetery will be our next step and will hopefully give us a firmer death date.

There are more than 1.5 million records in the Historical Newspaper, Birth, Marriage and Death Announcements, and many of the records contain multiple names. The “Tribune” clipping from January 5th in which we found Christine had about 90 deaths, although this is on the larger side. The quantity varies from paper to paper and day to day and some notices included are individual articles focused on one person. I noted a lot of accident articles as I browsed it, so if you have an ancestor who died in an accident at work, or some other circumstance that may have merited a mention in the newspaper, you’ll definitely want to check this collection.

Here is a list of the newspapers included in this collection:

> The New York Times (1851-2003)
> The Los Angeles Times (1881-1985)
> The Boston Globe (1872-1923)
> The Chicago Defender
(Big Weekend and National Editions, 1921-1975)
> The Chicago Tribune (1850-1985)
> The Hartford Courant (1791-1942)
> The Washington Post (1877-1990)
> The Atlanta Constitution (1869-1929)

When you search this collection, you’ll get results that include the newspaper title, location, date of publication, and the event (e.g., birth, marriage, obituary, etc.). When it locates a possible match, you can click through to see an image of the actual clipping.

Because the index was created using Optical Character Recognition (OCR), a computer read the images to create the index. Depending on the quality of the newsprint and image, it’s possible for characters to be misread. If you’re having a hard time locating someone, switch look-alike letters like c, e, and o, p and q, m and n, etc.

More Tips for Using this Collection
> Even if your ancestor didn’t live in the above mentioned cities, this database is worth a peek. The deaths of notable persons, accident or violence victims, and deaths due to other unusual circumstances were often picked up by other cities.

> Note the publications date when you see the initial results. In cases like Christine’s death notice, this will be only clue to the actual date of death. In other cases, you may find that it tells you that the person died “yesterday,” or “this morning.” There are also some obituaries that will refer to a day of the week (e.g., “John Smith died Monday at his home.”). For these entries, there are a number of perpetual calendars online that can help you figure out the actual date of death using the publication date. TimeandDate.com has a function that allows you to view a calendar of any year.

> Because the way the dates were stated and the fact that they may vary from that of the publication, only the publication date is included in the index. So when you attach one of these records to your online tree, it doesn’t create an event in that person’s timeline. However, you will see it appear in the historical records for that person (in the box on the right hand side of the Profile page). You can manually “Add a fact” (e.g., birth, marriage, death) to that person using the link at the top of the timeline. Once you’ve added the event, just select it and edit it, adding the source. Because you’ve attached record, that database will automatically come up as a source option in your list of sources.

The information found in these records can be incredibly rich. For example, this one for Michael Sullivan, from the same listing where we found Christine in “The Chicago Tribune,” gives his address, wife’s name and maiden name, children’s names, his place of origin in Ireland, and the names of siblings.

While our ancestor’s occasionally make us work a little for their records, they also often reward us well for our efforts. And honestly, when we get such enjoyment from our searches, it’s not really work at all.

Click here to search the Historical Newspapers, Birth, Marriage, & Death Announcements, 1851-2003.

Other articles in the 12 October 2009 Weekly Discovery: "

Collaboration with Other Researchers

Cut and Pasted from Family Tree site.

"Collaboration with Other Researchers
By George G. Morgan

Collaborating is a great way to make valuable contacts and to extend your research. The paths we take as we seek our ancestors are unique, and by comparing our successes with those of other researchers working on the same family, in the same time period, or in the same location, we benefit from each other. In some cases, collaborating with other people can open new research avenues that are not always accessible otherwise. These days it’s easier than ever to collaborate with other researchers. Let’s explore some of the options that are available to us.

Blogs Are Wonderful
The use of blogs, also known as web logs, has exploded in the last decade, and there are blogs available for almost every topic imaginable. Genealogy blogs are a wonderful resource for your research and a great way to learn from the experiences of others.

Some bloggers, such as Steve Danko and Walter, Danny, and Joanne Ruby, maintain personal family research blogs about their research. You will learn a great deal about records, methodologies, and strategies through reading these personal online diaries.
READ MORE "