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EL Paso: H1N1 flu lingers, officials say

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  • EL Paso: H1N1 flu lingers, officials say

    Source: http://www.elpasotimes.com/health/ci_14071666

    H1N1 flu lingers, officials say
    By Diana Washington Valdez / El Paso Times
    Posted: 12/26/2009 12:00:00 AM MST


    EL PASO -- The H1N1 flu virus has been so unpredictable that it is hard to know what to expect next.

    "This virus hasn't behaved according to the textbook of flu viruses," said Michael Hill, director of the city Department of Public Health. "For example, we normally wouldn't have a flu virus circulating in the summer, and we can't tell yet if this is a year-round virus or if it comes back in successive waves.

    "However, from what we've seen, it is reasonable to expect another wave in the late winter or early spring."

    As of this month, El Paso had 1,240 lab-confirmed cases of the H1N1 flu virus, although city health officials believe thousands more had the virus since reporting began in April.

    El Paso also reported 433 people hospitalized and 17 deaths. Texas reported 5,151 lab-confirmed cases state wide and 187 deaths.

    Deborah Busemeyer, spokes woman for the New Mexico Department of Health, said New Mexico had 957 people hospitalized and 47 deaths associated with the virus.

    "Along with the others, we've stopped trying to count the flu cases," she said.

    Because of test costs and other factors, the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has dropped the requirement for tracking H1N1 flu cases.


    As of mid-November, the CDC estimated 50 million people in the United States, or one in six residents, had been infected with the virus. It also estimated that since last spring, the virus led to 200,000 people hospitalized and 10,000 deaths.

    Hill said there was not enough information yet to determine whether the deaths resulted from a viral pneumonia, encephalitis or other type of flu complication. CDC officials agreed that more precise information about what led to the deaths would not be known for some time after the virus peaks.

    Although Mexico was the first country to report an outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus, some medical investigators suspect it might been around before then.


    At first, health officials referred to the new viral illness as the swine flu. They said its makeup was novel -- a new mixture of human, swine and bird flu viruses.

    Then they called it simply the H1N1 virus, which some scientists think may be a milder and distant descendant of the 1918 Spanish avian flu virus that killed millions of people around the world.

    In only a few months, the H1N1 influenza became so widespread that the World Health Organization declared it a pandemic in June. The virus is now in 199 countries.

    Its mysterious origin and early death reports prompted the World Health Organization to push for a rapid development and deployment of a vaccine to protect against the virus. For communities concerned about the virus, the vaccine did not come fast enough.

    The CDC also said younger people tended to develop more severe symptoms. Of the 10,000 estimated U.S. deaths, the CDC said 1,100 were children, and 7,500 were adults between 18 and 64.

    Many, though, were younger than 50. This compares to about 1,000 deaths of people younger than 50 during a typical flu season.

    While medical detectives continue to sort out where the virus came from and where it is headed, Hill urges everyone to get the vaccine.
    The CDC lifted the restrictions on the H1N1 flu vaccine, which was scarce at first.

    "Children under 10 who received their initial dose of the H1N1 flu vaccine must go back to get the second dose so they will be fully protected," Hill said. "It is important for their parents to do this."

    Texas and New Mexico are receiving regular shipments of the vaccine. The flu shot is also available from many private doctors and at participating Walgreens pharmacies.

    Not much is known about H1N1 flu activity in Ju?rez, but El Paso health officials said Mexico bought about 40 million doses of the vaccine, and some of it should be reaching the neighbor border city soon.

    "Overall, El Paso and our region responded very well to the pandemic," Hill said. "Our community was calm and did not panic like some other communities did."


    Diana Washington Valdez may be reached at dvaldez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6140.
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