Time for some lovin'!
Posted on 12/15/2008 9:14:02 PM PST by null and void
MILLIONS face being struck down by a deadly winter vomiting bug sweeping the country. Scores of hospitals have been forced to close wards to new patients as they struggle to cope with the influx of norovirus sufferers.
One of London’s leading hospitals has even had to turn away 999 emergency patients after being overwhelmed with cases of the virus, while another hospital has drafted in GPs to cover for staff hit by the bug.
As the crisis deepens, health campaigners are warning that hospitals face going into “complete meltdown” over Christmas and New Year.
Last year more than three million people were struck down by the bug as it reached epidemic levels. Now experts are warning that the virus could affect even more this year.
It appears to be taking hold much earlier than usual.
Last night the Health Protection Agency warned that it was expecting the number of cases to escalate.
Geoff Martin, of the campaign group Health Emergency, said: “Christmas and New Year are a notoriously busy time and the fact that hospitals can’t cope already is very, very ominous. Winter and Christmas are always extremely difficult for hospitals.
“People giving germs to each other means more flu, the cold weather means a lot more respiratory problems, especially for the elderly, and everyone’s out drinking a lot so there are more injuries that way, too.
“The busiest period is still two weeks away and it is evident that hospitals can’t cope.
“If the Secretary of State for Health does not do something about this, there could be a complete meltdown and a full-blown crisis.
“It would be the worst I have seen in five or six years.”
At its height last year the virus, which causes projectile vomiting, diarrhoea, mild fever and headaches, was striking down more than 200,000 a week. The illness can prove deadly for the vulnerable – children and the elderly.
So far there have been 1,575 reported cases since July but officials fear the figure could be 100 times higher as most sufferers do not report it. St George’s hospital, one of London’s three major trauma centres, was forced to turn away ambulances last Monday because it had run out of beds.
Hospital chiefs said they had suffered a 14 per cent surge in demand over the weekend, compared to the same time last year.
Patients had to be diverted to neighbouring hospitals, all of which have reported serious pressure on their capacities.
A survey by the Daily Express found that hospitals across the country were, on average, each shutting off between eight and nine wards to new admissions and visitors.
At least 21 hospitals have had to isolate patients.
Last week the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital closed all its 49 wards because of the virus, which had directly affected 12 wards including the isolation unit. Three wards at Gloucester Royal hospital were closed last Friday following a norovirus outbreak.
GPs were being drafted in to fill in for affected staff and admissions were slowed because of a shortage of beds.
The University Hospital of North Staffordshire lost about 130 beds, or 12 per cent of its capacity, when it sealed off six wards in an attempt to stop the bug spreading.
In the Midlands, Coventry’s University hospital closed seven wards, while George Elliot hospital in Nuneaton lost the use of three wards and four staff were struck down.
A Department of Health spokesman said: “Hospitals will have plans for dealing with the virus.
“We know wards have been closed to admissions. This will help to control outbreaks.”
Ping
Ah, the efficacy of “free” socialized medicine.
Ah yes, and we sit with open borders. There’s a REASON for controlled immigration.
Projectile vomiting? I didn't know such a thing existed outside the realms of The Exorcist.
I had something from my teen years up through my twenties that would hit me two or three times a year with nausea, vomiting, and the taste of rotten eggs. Pretty awful. I haven’t gotten it in several years, thankfully.
Virus? Sure it’s not all the curry.
Not to worry. Soon, the One will take office ending all pestilence and disease. Birds will sing and will all crap sunshine.
History
Originally, norovirus was named after Norwalk, Ohio, where an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis occurred among children at an elementary school in November 1968. In 1972, immune electron microscopy on stored stool samples identified a virus, which was given the name Norwalk virus. Numerous outbreaks with similar symptoms have been reported since. The cloning and sequencing of the Norwalk virus genome showed that these viruses have a genomic organization consistent with viruses belonging to the familia Caliciviridae.The name norovirus (Norovirus for the genus) was approved by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses in 2002.
Common names of the illness caused by noroviruses are winter vomiting disease, viral gastroenteritis and acute non-bacterial gastroenteritis, also colloquially known as “stomach flu” — a broad name that can also refer to gastric inflammation caused by other viruses and bacteria.
Some previously used names which can be used for PubMed and other internet searches are Norwalk virus, Norwalk-like virus, SRSVs (Small Round Structured Viruses), Sapporo virus and Snow Mountain.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norovirus#History
Get used to it and welcome to Obama’s health care for all! We can all suffer equally with the exception of the elitist in the US Congress. They will, of course, have the best health care confiscated taxpayer money can buy. Meanwhile, the peons will have garbage health care forced upon them. But, the morons will accept it because it will be free. Socialism for the populace while the elitist enjoy the fruits of their lies.
How about residents who travel abroad? I think most of these things spread quickly on airplanes.
I am not sure why hospitals are being overrun by this unless it is because health care is free? There is little that can be done for the virus outside of making sure to keep hydrated and let it run its course.
It does indicate that things aren’t as clean as they could be, somewhere, for this many people to be sick with this.
Time for some lovin'!
"Sorry."
In 5 or 6 years. Terrible. Horrific.
We're all going to die. TM
While in labor with my second child I vomited about four feet in the direction of the nurse. Then, again, I was told when I was younger that I looked like Linda Blair, so maybe that was part of it.
We just had a dibilitating bug that sounds just like this Norvis thing I named it the Sickle Slicer as it felt like tons of microc sickles going through our bowels/sinus/and every part of our carcess.
Being one of us old and the other a quad we called the Doc to get in home care of a nurse for diagnosis and just got a so what shrug.
Finally got an order for a RTP to come in and do a lung listen and sputem to go to lab....
We have since gone on snow lock down as we use to in the past go into homebound no visitors/no going out (cept for fresh food runs).
This thing/virus felt like it took 2 weeks to kick in and once it did all I could think of was if it is this bad I cant imagine what those who go through Ebola and survive must go through.
Lots and Lots of clear liqueds to stay hydrated and salty/viniger stuff (post puking) to keep potass levels up.
If the Brits hosps. are breaming at the rims then yall dont even know how many elder/disabled they turned away to fend for themselves.
Trust me it happens here ALL the time and we are fully coveered financially to pay and insured.
We dont have the health care facilities that are pro life cept for the Catholic Hosp down in Eugene and kind of hard to get there from here when snowed in.
We will survive and have had some good docs in the past teach us how to do it at home.
Joke all you want but I would not wish what we just sufferred through on any human and not have medical intervention available.
Please know I was not making light of your suffering. I was only making light of the doomsday tone that I derived from the article.
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