KIRKLAND, Wash. — Dr. Francis Riedo said it's been a tough two weeks at Evergreen Health in Kirkland.
Six very critically ill flu patients came into the hospital in the past tw weeks; three died. The patients were all between 25 and 50-years-old.
Reido said, "This is not the elderly and the debilitated patient. These are young, fairly healthy individuals who should be able to withstand this sort of process and they've just been overtaken by severe illness."
It appears to be the H1N1 strain of flu, commonly called the swine flu. The same strain was part of a pandemic in 2009.
Dr. Riedo said some patients develop such severe pneumonia that they can't breathe, even with the help of a ventilator. Others can eventually die from organ failure.
The best defense is a flu shot, which are recommended for anyone older than six months old.
Riedo said the vaccine is not perfect and there's no guarantee you won't get some type of flu. Reido said, "I think it may make the difference between having a trivial illness and a severe or even fatal illness."
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