It was easily preventable: Luis Fermin Tenorio and H1N1

In 1991, a young boy in Peru became the last child in the entire Western Hemisphere to get polio. He hadn't been immunized, though the vaccine was available. Now about 21 years old, Luis Fermin Tenorio had been only a toddler at the time. That life-changing event was easily preventable.

Now we are in the midst of an epidemic that has killed 11,000 people in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control An inexpensive vaccine is available to everyone through doctors' offices, CVS, Walgreen's, and many other places.

Don't let someone in your family risk suffering or dying needlessly from the H1N1 virus!

Advice: Get vaccinated against the swine flu now.

Read another vaccination story.

Among previously healthy children and adults: MRSA

A story by the Centers for Disease Control:

Louisiana case 1. A previously healthy boy aged 10 years became ill with fever, cough, sore throat, and earache in both ears on December 6, 2006, and was treated with acetaminophen at home. The next day, his symptoms worsened and he was taken to a local Emergency Department in respiratory distress with a fever of 104°F (40°C). A chest X-ray was performed and revealed pneumonia in more than one lobe of his lungs. The patient was transferred to another hospital and admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), where he required endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. He was treated initially on December 7 with intravenous (IV) ceftriaxone; vancomycin was started the next day. On December 8, a rapid immunochromatographic assay for the qualitative detection of influenza A or B was performed on nasopharyngeal secretions and was positive for influenza A. A sputum culture obtained the same day grew MRSA; blood cultures were negative. The patient had leukopenia [a decreased number of white blood cells] and worsening hypotension (abnormally low blood pressure) and hypoxia [a shortage of oxygen in the body]. He died on December 9, approximately 42 hours after admission to the PICU. The cause of death was reported as bilateral pneumonia [in both lungs]. The patient had no documented history of MRSA; no documentation of influenza vaccination was present in either his medical record or the statewide immunization database, Louisiana Immunization Network for Kids Statewide (LINKS).

The CDC reported nine other similar cases in Lousiana and Georgia in December 2006 and January 2007. In six of them, the patient died. None had received a flu vaccine.

Advice: Write yourself a note on your calendar for the first Monday in November: Get yourselves vaccinated against the flu.

Read another flu story, or read CDC’s source story.

Lucio Satar: A flu vaccine story

Lucio Satar, a healthy eight-year-old boy in Minnesota, began feeling sick with the flu on Jan. 24. He died Wednesday of pneumonia, a complication from the flu.

Across the U.S., about 100 children die every year from flu complications, according to Patsy Stinchfield, a pediatric nurse practitioner who leads the Minnesota Immunization Practices Advisory Committee.

Advice to parents: Please have your families vaccinated against the flu.

Read the story in the Lacrosse Tribune.

“Just a little sunbeam, very sweet”: Flu vaccine

Nichole Lang-Veru, a fourth-grader at Dale Mabry Elementary School in Tampa, Florida, died Dec. 27 after she became ill. An autopsy confirmed her death was flu-related, the Medical Examiner said. Doctors said Lang-Veru's death should serve as a warning to parents because the girl seemed to be healthy. "She was somewhat shy, very quiet, very respectful," said an adult classroom volunteer. "Just a little sunbeam, very sweet."

This isn’t a story about medical error, but since I have a daughter, it strikes close to home.

Advice to parents: Get your family vaccinated to protect them from the flu—it’s not too late.

Read another story of how parents can prevent tragedies, or read the newspaper story about Nichole by Abbie VanSickle or the story in Florida Today.