Doctor Gets Swine Flu Twice! Virginia

My main thing is that we are informed so we can be as careful as possible. This article shows that this virus changes quickly, that it can reinfect.


CDC confirms Kanawha County pediatrician had swine flu -- twice

http://dailymail.com/News/Kanawha/200911230838

Kanawha County
Tuesday November 24, 2009
CDC confirms Kanawha County pediatrician had swine flu -- twice
Health officials say chance of getting swine flu twice rare, but possible

Dr. Debra Parsons, a pediatrician at Kid Care West in Cross Lanes, was met with reactions of doubt last month when she said she had contracted swine flu twice. Now, test results from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta say Parsons was correct.
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A West Virginia physician who claimed to have contracted the H1N1 virus twice now has proof -- from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, no less -- that her claims were true.

Dr. Debra Parsons, a pediatrician at Kid Care West in Cross Lanes, was met with reactions of doubt from local health officials last month when she said two flu tests had come back positive for H1N1, or swine flu.

Parsons first came down with the virus, complete with all the telltale symptoms, in August.

Her son became ill at the same time with the same symptoms. Figuring they had the same bug, Parsons tested herself to see what it was.

The test came back positive for Influenza A, so the lab at Charleston Area Medical Center sent it to be sub-typed. Parsons was positive for H1N1.

Parsons and her son recovered, but in October they started having the same symptoms, but they became much worse.

They were both tested this time, and the results were the same -- they were positive for Influenza A and then H1N1.

"It was swine flu both times," Parsons said.

Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, and John Law, spokesman for the West Virginia Division of Health and Human Resources, were skeptical of Parsons' claim.

Law said the possibility of getting the flu twice was "very, very, very rare." Gupta said he was "aware of no data or scientific body of research or case reports" that indicated someone could contract H1N1 more than once.

So the specimen from the Parsons' second flu test was sent to the CDC in Atlanta, where it underwent a preliminary strain reaction test. Parsons says that test is the "gold standard" in differentiating between seasonal and swine flu.

That sample came back a couple weeks ago, and it was positive for H1N1. The CDC then requested a specimen from Parsons' August flu test.

Last Friday, the results of that test came back positive for H1N1.

Parsons says she's spoken with CDC representatives about the results, and they said the double infection isn't all that unbelievable.


"They said this happens every year with seasonal flu, so there's no reason to expect that it wouldn't happen with swine flu," Parsons said. "Every flu strain can change a little bit."

The pediatrician says there may have been a tiny change in the virus that stopped her immune system from recognizing it or her body never built up immunity to it.

Parsons said the CDC's tests confirmed what she already knew, "so I'd know what to tell people, and I could prove that I wasn't trying to start a panic. I don't want to scare anybody."

"I need to know, as a physician, if it is possible or not. I want to tell my patients the truth," she said.

She says the confirmation also speaks well of CAMC's lab.

"It feels good to verify that the hospitals here are doing a good job and their tests, for the most part, are accurate," Parsons said.

Law, the DHHR spokesman, still says most people should "rest assured if you've had it, you'll develop some immunity.

"Can you ever say never? No you can't."

Gupta says he needs to see Parsons' test results before he can change his opinion. He says there are only two ways she could have contracted the virus twice -- the virus would have had to change, which he doesn't think has happened, or her body failed to develop an antibody response to it.

"That would mean you have a problem with your immune function," he said.

Parsons says to her knowledge neither she nor her son has any immunity problems.

"He's welcome to see them," she said. "I've had every test that he wanted done when he was on TV."