quote:
With today's drugs, there's little reason for a flu to last over a week-and-a-half, especially for a healthy, fit 30-something male.
Healthy, fit people die all the time from the flu. The story about Kidd may be BS, but not because of your knowledge of the flu virus.
http://blogs.nature.com/news/thegreatbeyond/2009/11/rip_keith_***nou.htmlEdit: Well, the all-knowing texags monitor has decided that a person with the French last name f-a-gnou is not worthy of having his obituary posted in a link. So, I will just post his whole obit here:
Chemists are mourning the loss of a bright young star of the field, Keith ***nou, an organic chemist at the University of Ottawa, Canada. ***nou died three days after being admitted to hospital with the H1N1 flu virus. He was 38 years old.
An announcement from the department of chemistry at the university reads “Professor ***nou was an outstanding scientist, teacher, and mentor. He will be missed by all his colleagues and students as a leader, a teacher, a passionate scientist, and a good friend.”
***nou was researching the organic chemistry of carbon-hydrogen bonds in cyclic molecules called arenes, with the aim of making these catalytic reactions more efficient. ***nou’s research was part of the green chemistry movement, which is trying to make chemical processes more sustainable. In 2003, ***nou won the Polanyi prize, given by the province of Ontario in honour of Nobel laureate John Polanyi, who won the prize for chemistry in 1986.
The Ottawa Citizen uses ***nou’s death to discuss how this strain of flu might hit young, seemingly healthy people more than seasonal flu – which tends to cause worst suffering in the elderly and very young.
Over at popular chemistry blog In the pipeline the question over the availability and production of vaccines in Canada is raised in the comments thread, although it is very unlikely that someone of ***nou’s age and physical health would feel the need to be vaccinated. Extra poignancy is added when you take a look at the University of Ottawa’s swine flu advice page, which reads:
Due to the limited supply of the H1N1 flu vaccine, the University of Ottawa may be required to hold its campus vaccination clinic at a later date. The University is waiting on confirmation from Public Health Ottawa and will keep the community informed of all developments.
The latest CDC estimates, released late last week, suggest that the number of deaths from swine flu is greater than expected (Washington Post).
***nou is survived by his wife, who is a doctor, and their three young children. His PhD supervisor Mark Lautens from the university of Toronto told the Globe and Mail how ***nou’s death is not only a tragic loss to his family and friends, but also to Canadian chemistry: “I think it's safe to say he was the most high-profile rising young star in chemistry in Canada.”
[This message has been edited by 94chem (edited 5/3/2010 10:01a).]
[This message has been edited by 94chem (edited 5/3/2010 10:02a).]
