Mysterious Respiratory Disease Kills 2 in Southeast Alabama, 5 Infected

The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) has begun investigations into a mysterious respiratory disease that has killed two out of the seven people infected in southeast Alabama.  Five are still hospitalized and one person is in intensive care.

The ADPH and the Houston County Health Department together with the Centers for Disease and Control have found that this mysterious respiratory disease has flu like symptoms - fever, cough and shortness of breath.    

Baffled with this new illness, the investigators state that most of the victims are young adults and with only one elderly person reportedly infected.

An APHD press release states that laboratory samples have been collected from victims and they will test them at both the ADPH Bureau of Clinical Laboratories and CDC's Respiratory Laboratory.

According to Mary McIntyre, an assistant state health officer for disease control and prevention, two of the seven patients tested positive for the flu - one for H1N1 and the other for influenza A, reports Nature World News.

It was on May 16 that the first three cases were reported to the health department and the patients were kept on ventilators as the cause of the illness was a mystery.  The most recent case of the illness was reported on May 19, reports Wear TV.

To prevent a patient to care-giver infection, local hospitals are cautioning their staffs to use precautions such as wearing masks and gloves.