WOODLAND HILLS : Woman Diagnosed With Dangerous Flu

A 19-year-old San Fernando Valley woman has been diagnosed with influenza A, a highly contagious respiratory infection that can lead to pneumonia and bronchitis and can be fatal.

The woman was diagnosed Friday at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Woodland Hills.

The symptoms of the disease include high fever, cough, headache, malaise and muscle aches.

“It has much stronger symptoms than the common cold,” said Laurene Mascola, chief of the county’s acute communicable disease control unit.

The disease, which in its most severe cases can be fatal, is particularly dangerous for people over 60 years old and those who suffer chronic illnesses, such as pulmonary or cardiac diseases or cancer, Mascola said.

Particles of the viral disease destroy cells lining the respiratory tract, the trachea and the bronchial tubes.

Mascola is urging residents to get vaccinations from their physicians or from special flu clinics open through Dec. 10.

Children and adults with chronic illnesses especially should be vaccinated, she said.

Mascola added that health officials recommend children not be given aspirin during flu season, which peaks between late December and February. Aspirin use is suspected of increasing the risk of Reyes syndrome in children with influenza. She suggests parents give children acetaminophen instead.

Those with symptoms should stay home for three to five days, drink plenty of liquids, get bed rest “and don’t give it to anybody else,” Mascola said.

For more information, call the county health line at (800) 427-8700.