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Nov 3, 2009 5:50 pm US/Central
Docs Get On The Job Training To Help H1N1 Cases
(WCCO)
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Osterholm said even when H1N1 vaccine does start to arrive in the next six to 12 weeks, some areas of the country may be overwhelmed trying to distribute it.
Paul Kane/Getty Images
Doctors are doing their best to deal with the people who are getting sick.
WCCO-TV talked to some Twin Cities experts about the challenges they face.
Hennepin County Medical Center pediatric specialist Dr. Stacene Maroushek is on the weekly conference call to the Centers of Disease Control.
Doctors there hope to learn how she helped save a patient's life with an emergency-use drug called Peramivir. A drug that is reserved for Intensive Care patients who can't swallow other antiviral meds like Tamiflu.
"Even as an infectious disease specialist myself, I mean, I'm continually learning about what the options are, what the doses are in specific clinical settings," Maroushek said.
Doctors at HCMC said many of the patients who show up at the emergency room simply expect to get some kind of medication, but they may not even know if they have the H1N1 flu. Doctors said there are a lot of bugs out there right now.
"There's a lot of croup going around. There's a lot of laryngitis going around. Those are both caused by parainfluenza virus -- not related to influenza virus. It's a completely different class of virus," said Maroushek.
As the numbers of people with flu symptoms in emergency rooms rise, one expert said we are seeing how vulnerable the U.S. system may be.
University of Minnesota infectious disease researcher Dr. Michael Osterhom said the slow arrival of H1N1 vaccine has only added to the problem.
"We don't have excess capacity in our health care offices. So, if you're calling a physician's office today you're likely to get a busy signal because so many people are trying to call to get vaccine that we're actually beginning to cause serious problems with every day delivery of medicine," said Osterholm.
Osterholm said even when H1N1 vaccine does start to arrive in the next six to 12 weeks, some areas of the country may be overwhelmed trying to distribute it.
He said the system is not set up for mass vaccinations for adults.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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