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Alaskan transparency = evaporation

AlaskaDenise

AlaskaDenise

In Memoriam
Yesterday I sent the Alaska DHSS a nice email about the fact the swine flu numbers hadn't been updated since September 2nd. I said that while the case counts had become somewhat irrelevant, the hospital totals might motivate some people to practice better prevention strategies.

Today - the chart of confirmed cases, hospitalizations, and deaths is - GONE!

Poof!

:rolleyes:

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Re: Alaskan transparency = evaporation

Gee AlaskaDenise, you're very lucky to live in a state where it's non-existent.
:rolleyes:
 
Re: Alaskan transparency = evaporation

I emailed the state's largest newspaper and TV network about the situation. Perhaps their inquiries will remedy this problem.

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Re: Alaskan transparency = evaporation

I've seen a lot of things taken offline lately. Could be coincidence.

Maybe in this case, they are updating the stats. They do have to be really current to have any value, since it seems like pandemics spike suddenly. I'm no expert, though. That is just the impression I got from a quick look at charts for 1918.
 
Re: Alaskan transparency = evaporation

Emily said:
I've seen a lot of things taken offline lately. Could be coincidence.

Maybe in this case, they are updating the stats. .........
Click to expand...

They usually update the stats every Wednesday & I check repeatedly on Wednesdays. I've never seen the chart disappear.

I suspect that since case numbers are increasing, they choose not to address the issue.

I'm hoping it's an update or format change problem.

Maybe they'll drop the case counts and leave only hospitalization and deaths - which would be the only meaningful numbers these days. Maybe they've run out of adequate test kits for all hospitalized cases, so they feel the numbers wouldn't be accurate.

I'd be very alarmed if any state decided to have a total blackout of meaningful statistics.

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Re: Alaskan transparency = evaporation

I went looking through the state's general influenza page and found various numbers, but not neatly presented as before on the H1N1 page.

statewide there are:

886 cases positive for influenza A (eff. 9/16) and

151 cases of influenza B (eff. 9/8).

There are 17 hospitalizations for all influenza as of 9/14).

IF all the influenza A cases are novel H1N1, then the total confirmed cases has doubled since 9/2.

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Re: Alaskan transparency = evaporation

AlaskaDenise, your emails are obviously not unnoticed.

In this instance they removed the outdated information. Hopefully, the local news media, which should function as watchdogs on the public reporting of pandemic information, will pick up and follow this story.

Access to the current numbers of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths, should be the right of every citizen in every state in the USA. It should be concise, clear, and easy to locate online. There is no excuse for obscuring the information or providing obfuscating links.
 
Re: Alaskan transparency = evaporation

I should really hope that the page was only down because they were updating the information and it just took a wee bit longer than expected to update. OK, now they have a polite, somewhat plausible explanation........Therefore, time to release the updated information in its normal friendly format.
 
Re: Alaskan transparency = evaporation

Normal Wednesday updates don't take long and I've never seen the chart disappear. I wouldn't expect to see this resolved until at least Monday afternoon.

At the bottom of the Influenza Surveillance (all types) page is a little headline called "Historic Data." The second entry "May – August 2009 Alaska Laboratory-Confirmed 2009 H1N1 Influenza (Swine Flu) Cases" is the same chart they've been using, but ending on August 31, 2009. It appears they had no intention of continuing to present clear data about novel H1N1 cases!

The only meaningful number on the whole page is a hospitalizations bar chart - they went up from 15 on 9/7 to 17 on 9/14 - but that is for all ILI.

R hiza will have a good time deciphering these numbers. :D

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Re: Alaskan transparency = evaporation

I wouldn't expect to see this resolved until at least Monday afternoon.
Click to expand...

I got a response from them - stamped 7:28 PM today!

They wanted to know if I got an answer to my questions. So I responded "NO" and with a similar request as the first time.

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Re: Alaskan transparency = evaporation

I received this reply this morning...

Dear Denise xxxxxx,



A colleague forwarded your message about the state?s pandemic flu Web site, which links to the epidemiology page with charts and graphs of data.



The surveillance page now only tracks influenza-like illness, not specifically H1N1, and includes a bar graph that shows a week to week account of the number of influenza hospitalizations and deaths since September 1, along with another graph showing those numbers by age group.



Unlike before, the site does not now show a table of influenza deaths and hospitalizations because the state isn?t tracking the total number of cases; posting a table without case numbers would not provide enough context to the data.



The epidemiology department handles the updates on that page and I will send your message along to generate a discussion. They?re the medical people around here and may have many reasons for not using a table of hard numbers?which I, too, found easy to understand and use?but perhaps they can come up with another way of presenting the information.



Thanks again for your comment.



Dxxxx Sxxxx

Information Officer II

Alaska Dept. of Health & Social Services

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Re: Alaskan transparency = evaporation

My reply...
---------------

For those people who want to follow the exact novel H1N1 numbers in Alaska, by region, and had previously utilized the regional chart at: http://www.epi.alaska.gov/id/influenza/swineflu.htm

...might I suggest a direct link on the above page to:
http://www.epi.hss.state.ak.us/id/influenza/influenza.jsp

...just like the red one ("Current Influenza Activity in Alaska") at the top of:
http://www.epi.alaska.gov/id/influenza/fluinfo.htm

I believe that if people knew the exact number of hospitalized cases in their region, it would be a good motivator to better prevention behaviors. When those numbers are not available, it tends to give the impression there is something to hide and public health officials can loose their crediblity. I think this is especially true for people who normally don't get influenza vaccinations - if they're convinced there are significant serious (hospitalized) cases, it might motivate them to get a vaccination or at least practice better prevention measures.

Thanks for your time to consider my concerns,


Denise xxxxxx
xxxxxxx, AK

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Re: Alaskan transparency = evaporation

Thanks for staying on this Denise. We must continue to demand information that will help us prepare and keep ourselves safe as this pandemic progresses.
 
Re: Alaskan transparency = evaporation

Late today I got a response from a major state TV network.....
------------------------------------------------------

Several people have posed this question to us. When I did some checking I
found that the CDC is no longer requiring states to report individual cases.
Here is the link:
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/surveillanceqa.htm

I hope this answers part of your question.

Mxxxx Jxxxx
Kxxx Assignment Editor


-----------------------------------------------------

My response.....

Mxxxxx:

Thanks for checking out this issue.

While the CDC may not require reporting more specific influenza
numbers, that would not prevent AK DHSS from doing so - as are many
other states.

I believe it's a matter of transparency, truth, and official
credibility - to say nothing of motivating Alaskans to practice
appropriate prevention strategies.

I've written DHSS and received replies, with the latest one being
that they will be discussing the issue among their medical staff.

I believe that Alaskans deserve the truth and less than full
disclosure tends to lead to perceptions that there is something to
hide. In this era of governmental distrust, anything that even
smells like a coverup leads to more distrust. In John Barrey's book
about the 1918 pandemic, he said they learned the hard way that truth
is the best policy.

I will make one concession to removing the old case count chart -
since all cases are understandably not tested, simple cases counts
are meaningless. However, knowing the number of hospitalized cases
by region can impress people with the seriousness of the disease and
provide incentives toward improved solutions.

Please try to convince our state's DHSS to release numbers about
confirmed hospitalized cases and confirmed deaths by influenza strain
(novel A/H1N1, A/H3N2, and B).

Thank you for your efforts and Kxxx's great coverage of in-state news,

Denise
xxxxx, AK

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