NAHA —

A 24-year-old woman in Okinawa Prefecture who had the new strain of influenza but no underlying health problems died Tuesday, becoming the youngest victim in Japan so far linked with the epidemic, the prefectural government said. The local authority said the immediate cause of her death, the 14th associated with the new flu in Japan, was subarachnoid bleeding.

The woman developed a fever on Aug 26 and later tested positive for influenza A at a local medical institution, according to Okinawa prefectural officials. She took the antiviral drug Relenza at her home in Haebaru, Okinawa, but it failed to relieve her fever. The woman developed severe breathing problems and viral pneumonia and was hospitalized Aug 31, the officials said. The woman underwent intensive care but died Tuesday morning.
   

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4 Comments

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  Osakadaz at 09:37 AM JST - 16th September

  That is very sad.I read that some doctors had a similar situation in the UK and Relenza wasn't working,so they administered it in an IV (from memory) and it fixed the patient practically overnight.Of course in a land that won't readily accept foreign findings,vaccines and new drugs,one wonders whether Japanese doctors are even aware of this? Maybe this lady's life could have been saved.

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  kirakira25 at 11:40 AM JST - 16th September

  Yes, I read that too. I cant remember the exact details but she was a young woman and had some kind of underlying health condition. They had no other options left to try, she was no going to make it through the night, and Dr House-style did something completely outside the box by IVing her the Relenza and it worked.

  I think whether Japanese doctors are aware of it or not thinking outside the box ansd risk-taking in these situations doesn`t seem to be part of the culture.

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  smithinjapan at 07:51 PM JST - 16th September

  "She took the antiviral drug Relenza at her home in Haebaru, Okinawa, but it failed to relieve her fever."

  Therein lies the answer, in my opinion. I have no doubt in my mind whatsoever that had she not taken the drug, she would still be alive. They probably also gave her some other drugs via IV that somehow had an adverse reaction in this poor young woman.

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  dontpanic at 09:15 PM JST - 16th September

  smithinjapan - Is this your qualified medical opinion or are you starting off a new conspiracy theory?

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