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Source: http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/2009/06/09/20090609flu-update0609-CP.html
Flu cases still widespread
Arizona health officials blame abnormal numbers on swine flu
by Ginger Rough - Jun. 9, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
The onset of June and the Valley's typically high summer temperatures usually spell the end of Arizona's flu season.
Not this year.
State health officials are still reporting widespread flu activity, a very atypical occurrence they attribute directly to the novel H1N1 flu virus, also known as swine flu, that first appeared in April.
"I've been doing this for 20 years, and I can't ever remember seeing widespread flu in the middle of June," said Will Humble, interim director of the Arizona Department of Health Services. "It's not just in a little pocket here and there, it is across the whole state."
The "widespread" designation essentially means that flu activity is at the highest level of a five-rung scale used to monitor the influenza virus; it occurs when at least half the regions in the state report lab-confirmed cases of the illness.
Typically, Arizona's flu season begins just after Thanksgiving, peaks in February, and subsides in late May. In recent years, the state has confirmed anywhere between 1,600 and 5,300 influenza cases, depending on the severity of the season.
This year's season was on track to follow that path until the H1N1 virus showed up on April 29.
The state reported widespread flu activity from mid-February until the first week in April, when the number of confirmed cases began dropping. But once the H1N1 strain appeared, flu activity shot back up to widespread, where it has remained for the past five weeks.
The state now has 580 laboratory-confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus; which equates to about 11 percent of the state's overall flu activity. To date, Arizona's health officials have recorded 4,877 flu cases and six flu-related deaths.
"We were just very fortunate that this new virus turned out to have similar severity to the seasonal flu," Humble said. "We were just lucky that way."
State health officials say it's too soon to know when this year's flu season will end, as new cases are still rolling in.
But they are already turning their attention to next year's season, which is likely to present some tough challenges - most notably in the allocation of any flu vaccines.
Usually, the federal government creates one flu vaccine, designed to offer protection against several strains of the virus that officials believe will be in widespread circulation. But there are already indications that federal officials might have to create two separate vaccines this fall, one for H1N1 and one for seasonal flu.
Depending on availability and when it's ready, there could be shortages for the H1N1 vaccine. That means state health experts would have to decide who would get the boosters first, Humble said.
Usually experts recommend the elderly, children, pregnant women and individuals with chronic health problems be given priority.
"My personal opinion, if we get into that situation, is that it should be kids," Humble said. "They are the population that amplifies the virus.
"But that's a decision that will be made later this summer."
Flu cases still widespread
Arizona health officials blame abnormal numbers on swine flu
by Ginger Rough - Jun. 9, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
The onset of June and the Valley's typically high summer temperatures usually spell the end of Arizona's flu season.
Not this year.
State health officials are still reporting widespread flu activity, a very atypical occurrence they attribute directly to the novel H1N1 flu virus, also known as swine flu, that first appeared in April.
"I've been doing this for 20 years, and I can't ever remember seeing widespread flu in the middle of June," said Will Humble, interim director of the Arizona Department of Health Services. "It's not just in a little pocket here and there, it is across the whole state."
The "widespread" designation essentially means that flu activity is at the highest level of a five-rung scale used to monitor the influenza virus; it occurs when at least half the regions in the state report lab-confirmed cases of the illness.
Typically, Arizona's flu season begins just after Thanksgiving, peaks in February, and subsides in late May. In recent years, the state has confirmed anywhere between 1,600 and 5,300 influenza cases, depending on the severity of the season.
This year's season was on track to follow that path until the H1N1 virus showed up on April 29.
The state reported widespread flu activity from mid-February until the first week in April, when the number of confirmed cases began dropping. But once the H1N1 strain appeared, flu activity shot back up to widespread, where it has remained for the past five weeks.
The state now has 580 laboratory-confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus; which equates to about 11 percent of the state's overall flu activity. To date, Arizona's health officials have recorded 4,877 flu cases and six flu-related deaths.
"We were just very fortunate that this new virus turned out to have similar severity to the seasonal flu," Humble said. "We were just lucky that way."
State health officials say it's too soon to know when this year's flu season will end, as new cases are still rolling in.
But they are already turning their attention to next year's season, which is likely to present some tough challenges - most notably in the allocation of any flu vaccines.
Usually, the federal government creates one flu vaccine, designed to offer protection against several strains of the virus that officials believe will be in widespread circulation. But there are already indications that federal officials might have to create two separate vaccines this fall, one for H1N1 and one for seasonal flu.
Depending on availability and when it's ready, there could be shortages for the H1N1 vaccine. That means state health experts would have to decide who would get the boosters first, Humble said.
Usually experts recommend the elderly, children, pregnant women and individuals with chronic health problems be given priority.
"My personal opinion, if we get into that situation, is that it should be kids," Humble said. "They are the population that amplifies the virus.
"But that's a decision that will be made later this summer."
