When I got pneumonia last year, it was an aftereffect of the flu.

Hey, that was two Springs ago! Yea!

Didn't he die of strep(ish)? Does strep often follow the flu? Or is it more lethal when it does, you're saying?

Or is it more lethal when it does, you're saying?

This. Influenza is rarely lethal by itself -- it almost always kills by weakening your immune system and leaving you vulnerable to bacteria you would normally fight off.

(The 1918 strain also killed by provoking such a violent immune response that patients' white cells essentially devoured their own lungs, but that was special circumstances.)

(The 1918 strain also killed by provoking such a violent immune response that patients' white cells essentially devoured their own lungs, but that was special circumstances.)

I vaguely recall hearing something about the fact that those with robust immune systems, if they contracted, were pretty much doomed because of the response. But that may have been another flu. Or I was waking up and misunderstood.

Mom had pneumonia a couple years ago. Over TG. I took leave to take care of her. It wasn't fun. Delerious moms aren't.

I have had the flu once in the past 10 years, and while that edition of the flu knocked me silly and kept me coughing for weeks afterwards (my doctor suspects I have mild asthma, which slows down recovery a lot)

See, I have the same mild asthma, and this has happened to me a couple of times now. The last time it happened, it was a year and more before I stopped coughing. I'm getting my shot tomorrow.

This is what I had always heard about Henson's death: [link] [link]

About eighteen months earlier I'd had a sudden vicious strep infection (the only one I'd ever had) that nearly killed me. Not long after Henson died my Docor theorized that I'd been on the beginning of the bellcurve before it got big and trackable. It was only theory, of course, since any culture of the thing was long gone. Creeped me out nonetheless.

I vaguely recall hearing something about the fact that those with robust immune systems, if they contracted, were pretty much doomed because of the response.

Yup -- the one plague in history where being outside the 20-40-and-healthy demographic was a plus.

he 1918 strain also killed by provoking such a violent immune response that patients' white cells essentially devoured their own lungs, but that was special circumstances.

Ish. Sometimes I wish I'd paid more attention in Biology, and then I remember, no I don't.

I have spent the last 20 minutes learning exciting things about Streptococcus pneumoniae. Apparently, about 40% of the population at any given time have strep wandering about in their systems. There are more than 30 identified strains, some of which are antibiotic resistant, and some of which are total monsters. The same strep that causes pneumonia (especially in adults) causes most children's ear infections.

There's a vaccine for S. pneumoniae now, but the CDC is worried that is it not in common enough use.

There was a whole other lot about autolysis and glucose in the vaccine and the fact that on an agar culture, tiny little streps go in pairs (diplococci) and look like the seeds in the middle of a plaintain. I happened on an online textbook about bacteriology, and kind of got sucked in.

Huh. I had strep almost non-stop as a baby. I wonder how many of my numerous cousins had inner ear infections at the time.