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A mystery virus that has infected eight patients from different parts of the country claimed its first known victim yesterday morning after a 36-year-old, nine-months pregnant woman died in a Seoul hospital of multiple organ failure triggered by pulmonary fibrosis and a stroke.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said yesterday that the woman had received intensive care treatment in a general hospital in Seoul for a month before her death. Doctors managed to save the baby.

According to the KCDC, the victim was one of the eight patients in the hospital receiving treatment for various conditions suspected to be caused by the same unidentified virus. All patients initially received treatments at different clinics around the country, but were later transferred to the Seoul hospital to receive intensive care, the KCDC said. The patients were not infected because they were at the same hospital, it said.

Seven of the eight patients, including the victim, were pregnant or had recently given birth. One was an adult male in his 40s.

One patient was treated and released on May 4, and another received a lung transplant after treatments failed.

The KCDC said the 36-year-old victim visited a clinic on April 8 after showing severe cold- or flu-like symptoms. On April 11, she was rushed to the Seoul hospital.

Despite the hospital’s efforts, pulmonary fibrosis, or scarring of the lungs, developed rapidly. After suffering from cerebral hemorrhage, the patient died 7 a.m. yesterday.

As anxiety spreads over the mysterious disease, health authorities said they are trying to identify the virus. Other possibilities, including bacterial infections and other immunological diseases, are being investigated.

Initial tests by the hospital discovered adenovirus and coronavirus, common cold causes, in two patients. But the KCDC said they may not be the cause of the pulmonary fibrosis.

“So far, we have found viruses that are often discovered in common cold patients,” said Yang Byeong-guk, head of infectious diseases at the KCDC. “What’s important is to identify whether the pulmonary fibrosis is triggered by a new kind of virus or not.”


http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/ ... id=2936045

Sounds like fatal flu case (11F) in PA.

http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/conte ... ml?nav=742

A family friend, who is an MD, posted “The doctors still have not told the family which strain of "influenza" was involved. She had necrotizing pneumonia and also likely suffered a stroke on the way to Pittsburgh.”

_________________
www.twitter.com/hniman

PULMONARY FIBROSIS - SOUTH KOREA: (SEOUL), REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
******************************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

Date Wed 11 May 2011
Source: Korea Joongang Daily [edited]
<http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2936045>


A mystery virus that has infected 8 patients from different parts of
the country claimed its 1st known victim yesterday morning [10 May
2011] after a 36-year-old, 9-months pregnant woman died in a Seoul
hospital of multiple organ failure triggered by pulmonary fibrosis and
a stroke. The Korea Centers for Disease Control [KCDC] and Prevention
said yesterday that the woman had received intensive care treatment in
a general hospital in Seoul for a month before her death. Doctors
managed to save the baby.

According to the KCDC, the victim was one of the 8 patients in the
hospital receiving treatment for various conditions suspected to be
caused by the same unidentified virus. All patients initially received
treatments at different clinics around the country, but were later
transferred to the Seoul hospital to receive intensive care, the KCDC
said. The patients were not infected at a single hospital, it said.

7 of the 8 patients, including the victim, were pregnant or had
recently given birth. One was an adult male in his 40s. One patient
was treated and released on 4 May [2011], and another received a lung
transplant after treatments failed.

The KCDC said the 36-year-old victim visited a clinic on 8 Apr [2011]
after showing severe cold- or flu-like symptoms. On 11 Apr [2011], she
was rushed to the Seoul hospital. Despite the hospital's efforts,
pulmonary fibrosis, or scarring of the lungs, developed rapidly. After
suffering from cerebral hemorrhage, the patient died 7 a.m. yesterday
[10 May 2011].

As anxiety spreads over the mysterious disease, health authorities
said they are trying to identify the virus. Other possibilities,
including bacterial infections and other immunological diseases, are
being investigated. Initial tests by the hospital discovered
adenovirus and coronavirus, common cold causes, in 2 patients. But the
KCDC said they may not be the cause of the pulmonary fibrosis. "So
far, we have found viruses that are often discovered in common cold
patients," said Yang Byeong-guk, head of infectious diseases at the
KCDC. "What's important is to identify whether the pulmonary fibrosis
is triggered by a new kind of virus or not."

[Byline: Yim Seung-hye]

--
Communicated by:
J Michael Peat
<michael.peat@juno.com>

[A HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of South Korea can be
accessed at <http://healthmap.org/r/00bh>.

There is not enough information to suggest an etiological agent (or
agents) responsible for these cases, nor is the basis provided for
concluding that a virus is responsible. - Mod.TY]

[Pulmonary fibrosis can be caused by many conditions including
chronic inflammatory processes (sarcoidosis, Wegener's granulomatosis
), infections, environmental agents (asbestos, silica, exposure to
certain gases), exposure to ionizing radiation (such as radiation
therapy to treat tumors of the chest), chronic conditions (lupus,
rheumatoid arthritis), and certain medications.

In a condition known as hypersensitivity pneumonitis, fibrosis of the
lung can develop following a heightened immune reaction to inhaled
organic dusts or occupational chemicals. This condition most often
results from inhaling dust contaminated with bacterial, fungal, or
animal products.

In some people, chronic pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis develop
without an identifiable cause. Most of these people have a condition
called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) that does not respond to
medical therapy, while some of the other types of fibrosis, such as
nonspecific interstitial pneumonitis (NSIP), may respond to immune
suppressive therapy. (For further information see
<http://www.medicinenet.com/pulmonary_fibrosis/article.htm#tocb>)

There is no direct evidence that a virus (or any other infectious
agent) is responsible for the condition of the 8 patients in the Seoul
hospital. They appear to have been referred from other clinics for
treatment in the Seoul hospital, and most, but not all, are pregnant,
or recently pregnant, women. The press report above suggests that the
pulmonary fibrosis in these patients may have been a result of
infection by an unidentified virus. Since only 2 common respiratory
viruses (an adenovirus and a coronavirus) have been isolated from only
2 of the 8 patients, this seems an unlikely prediction.

Further information on the outcome of the investigation currently
being conducted by the KCDC is awaited. - Mod.CP]

.................................................ty/cp/mj/lm

_________________
www.twitter.com/hniman

The above nonsensical comment by ProMED (CP) is STRONG evidence that the "mystery virus" is H1N1 (and may very well be the Chihuahua sub-clade).

_________________
www.twitter.com/hniman

Note the remarkably similar CP comments on Chihuahua H1N1 in Juarez, Mexico although for Mexico he did include influenza in his textbook (literal) comments:
Atypical pneumonia is a pneumonia that does not respond to the usual
antibiotic treatment. It can be caused by bacteria, in particular
_Mycoplasma pneumoniae_, _Chlamydia pneumoniae_, _Legionella
pneumophila_ and _Bordatella pertussis_, or viruses, including
influenza virus and other respiratory pathogens.

The description of the illness and the circumstances surrounding this
incident are too ill-defined to suggest a possible etiology for these
4 cases, one with fatal outcome. No information is provided to
substantiate the diagnosis of atypical pneumonia or the involvement of
a viral pathogen or any other infectious agent. Further information is
requested.

_________________
www.twitter.com/hniman

Here is the real deal on the"mystery virus" in Korea - from comments on the fatal case (11F) in Pennsylvania:

Family requests prayers for girl
11-year-old daughter still hospitalized, connected to tubes

Regina began breathing rapidly after developing a fever the night before, and her parents took her to the emergency room at Altoona Regional Health System, Altoona Hospital Campus. Kathy Sweeney said the doctors noticed her daughter's lungs weren't working properly and recommended Regina be taken to Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh.

...

Eventually doctors determined Regina had influenza, which led to a staph infection in her lungs. She's hooked up to a blood bypass machine and a ventilator. She has had surgery to remove blood clots in her left lung, is on blood thinners and at one point had four chest tubes. Regina's mother said she is weak on her left side, so doctors are unsure whether she might have suffered a stroke.


Thanks for posting this, Henry. The doctors still have not told the family which strain of "influenza" was involved. She had necrotizing pneumonia and also likely suffered a stroke on the way to Pittsburgh.

_________________
www.twitter.com/hniman

The latest out of South Korea has the clue:


Women with pneumonia tested negative for unknown virus
May 11, 2011 at 5:13 PM by AHN ·
Windsor Genova – AHN News News Writer
Seoul, South Korea (AHN) – South Korea’s Center for Disease Control (CDC) has found that six women who suffered pneumonia were not infected by an unknown virus that caused a pregnant woman to die from the same lung disease on Monday.

The CDC findings released Wednesday hopes to allay public fears that the unidentified virus is spreading fast.

The agency said it is still awaiting results of genetic tests that will determine the cause of death of the 36-year-old pregnant woman at a hospital in Seoul. The woman was admitted to the hospital a month ago for tuberculosis.

After the woman’s death, six others who were either pregnant or had given birth in the same hospital showed symptoms of pneumonia such as coughing and breathing disruptions.

http://gantdaily.com/2011/05/11/women-w ... own-virus/

_________________
www.twitter.com/hniman

The above "negative for unknown virus" translates into positive for a known virus (like Chihuahua H1N1).

_________________
www.twitter.com/hniman

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/h ... 869538.htm

S. Korea to release test results on unidentified virus

SEOUL, May 11 (Xinhua) -- South Korea is set to release test results on Thursday on an unidentified virus that has sickened eight, including a pregnant woman who died on Tuesday, local media reported Wednesday.

After the woman, 36 years old and nine months pregnant, died Tuesday of pneumonia related to the unidentified virus, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has been studying to figure out the virus suspected to have caused her pneumonia.

The CDC said the test results will come out on Thursday, local media reported. The CDC added that more time would take to determine the exact cause as it takes eight weeks to get results from genetic tests.

The death of the pregnant woman marked the first mortality caused by the unidentified virus. Including the woman who died, seven of the eight patients have recently given birth or are expecting.

I will predict Chihuahua H1N1.

For a full description of this fiasco, check out the Flutrackers thread

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showth ... p?t=167624

The key for SEVERE H1N1 infections is for Flutrackers to send the media report to ProMED, have ProMED note that there isn't enough data to call the virus a virus followed by a copy paste of a text book description of the diagnosis (atypical pneumonia or pulmonary fibrosis), followed by confirmation of H1N1, as was seen in Mexico and will almost certainly follow for Korea.

_________________
www.twitter.com/hniman