Re: Alabama: 4 more A/H1N1 deaths - total 15
Re: Alabama: 4 more A/H1N1 deaths - total 15
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20091003/NEWS01/910030329
Two in Montgomery Co. die from H1N1
By Rick Harmon
Two Montgomery county residents -- a woman in her 30s and a man in his 60s -- have died of H1N1, commonly called swine flu.
The fatalities bring the total number of H1N1 deaths to three in Montgomery and 15 in the state.
The Alabama Department of Public Health announced that it was notified of the Montgomery County deaths on Friday, along with the deaths of a man in his 40s from Calhoun County and a man in his 30s from Mobile County.
Dr. Jim McVay, spokesman for the public health department, answered questions about the victims and what their deaths might mean to the state's strategy in combating H1N1:
Q Was there any connection be tween the two victims, and do you believe they contracted the disease here?
A No, there was no connection, and none of the 15 deaths in Alabama have any connection to any overseas activities.
We have known since May that H1N1 was in Alabama. We had a few cases all through the summer, but unfortunately we were anticipating that when school started back up in mid-August -- since this particular virus is attacking primarily young people -- that the cases would spread rapidly, and that's what has happened. Schools in the deep South start a little before the rest of the nation. Many schools in the rest of the nation don't start until after Labor Day, but now they are seeing what we've seen for the past month as the cases increase.
Q: While you say the disease is targeting young people and the first fatality in Montgomery was an infant, the two Montgomery victims announced today were in their 30s and 60s and the other two in the state were in their 30s and 40s. If those dying from the disease are older, should there be a re-examination of who should be given the vaccine first?
A: Most of the cases we are seeing are still in younger people. But it's true that most of the deaths we are seeing, at least in Alabama, are in the older age groups.
The cases have rapidly increased by going through young children. Fortunately, they are generally healthy and able to handle the flu, but unfortunately they are carrying it to an older population that if they have health problems already, can suffer severe health problems from it.
But (those who have died) could well be part of the target groups already being addressed -- individuals six months to 24 years of age, household members of children under six months of age, health care workers and individuals between 25 and 64 with health complications.
Without having their health histories, we can't know for sure. There are healthy people who die from the flu. But usually individuals of these ages who suffer fatalities from influenza do have underlying health problems, such as diabetes, respiratory problems or a history of cardiovascular disease. These types of individuals will be eligible for the vaccine, although we are giving it out to health care providers as it comes in.
Q: Should people who have these underlying health problems contact their doctor or local hospital for the vaccine, and do you anticipate any shortages?
A: We opened up an Internet portal for health care providers to request the vaccine, and in the first 24 hours that it was open, we had over 500 health care providers request more than a million doses. As we get the vaccine in, we will be giving it out to hospitals and health care providers for those high-risk individuals.
As we get more in -- each week we will be getting in more vaccine -- we will open public clinics both in schools and in county health departments, and anyone who presents will be given the vaccine.
The first shipment to the state of Alabama will be slightly less than 30,000 doses next week. The following week we are scheduled to get 55,000 doses, and the following week more than 200,000 doses and the week after that more than 250,000 doses.
So each week we will be getting more in.
Q: Will the regular flu vaccine that is being given out now help at all with H1N1?
A: Unfortunately, they are two different strains so one does not protect against the other. If we had known there was going to be an H1N1 strain it could have been put in with the traditional flu vaccine, but we start the manufacturing process in February or March, and we did not even know H1N1 existed until the end of April in Mexico.
Q: Are there a lot of cases of regular flu being encountered along with the H1N1 cases?
A: No. The last six weeks, 99 percent of all flu cases confirmed have been H1N1, so that is almost all we have seen.
