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Source: http://www.qctimes.com/news/local/article_13faca52-af09-11de-a1b8-001cc4c03286.html
Reporting of influenza deaths, hospitalizations varies by state
Deirdre Baker | Posted: Friday, October 2, 2009 2:00 am
How severely the H1N1 flu affects the people of the bistate Quad-City region may be hard to understand, at least for the average resident.
The states of Iowa and Illinois differ in how they report the most severe cases of the disease.
"We do reporting very scientifically while still obeying the law and allow people their privacy," said Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, the medical director of the Iowa Department of Public Health.
The state is issuing reports by region. For instance, a news release issued Monday stated that Iowa's second and third deaths from H1N1 were adult males from eastern Iowa.
In Illinois, "We decided to do our reporting on a county-by-county basis to provide as much information as possible, without jeopardizing the confidentiality of a resident," said Kelly Jakubek, a spokeswoman for that state's Department of Public Health.
Jakubek said the decision came in early August after several news media representatives asked state officials to be more specific in their reporting methods.
Reporting severe cases of H1N1 may be done regionally or on a county-by-county basis, whichever each state decides, according to Artealia Gilliard, a spokeswoman for the influenza division at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"We ask each state to report to us the people who are hospitalized or have died," she said. How that is done is ultimately up to each state or local health department, she added, and right now "the methods are all across the board."
For instance, the term "eastern Iowa" includes parts of three of the six geographic regions the health department has divided the state into for activity reporting purposes, according to its Web site map of Iowa's 99 counties.
"Eastern Iowa" takes in Region 6, which includes Scott County. Region 6 is a 14-county portion of the state that encompasses Cedar, Clinton, Jackson and Jones counties, stretching north and west of the Quad-Cities to Black Hawk County and the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area. It also includes the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City areas.
But eastern Iowa also takes in part of Region 5 - which includes Muscatine and Louisa counties - a total of 18 counties south and west of the Quad-Cities. Finally, eastern Iowa includes part of Region 2, another 18 counties north and west of the Quad-Cities.
In Illinois, the Department of Public Health Web site has maps highlighting counties where, respectively, laboratory-confirmed cases of H1N1 have been reported since April 5 and where deaths associated with laboratory-confirmed H1N1 infections have been reported since the same date.
Illinois has had 19 deaths due to H1N1. The Web site map highlights six counties where deaths have occurred, mostly in the northeastern part of the state surrounding Chicago.
Quinlisk, the Iowa medical director, cited two deaths in recent years, one from West Nile virus and one from rabies, in which grieving family members were overwhelmed by news media contacts.
"People do have a right to privacy," she said.
Iowa's policy also relates to the size of the state, she said. "What happens in New York City is very different than what happens in Greene County, Iowa," she added, referring to a western Iowa county with a population of 10,300.
Reporting of influenza deaths, hospitalizations varies by state
Deirdre Baker | Posted: Friday, October 2, 2009 2:00 am
How severely the H1N1 flu affects the people of the bistate Quad-City region may be hard to understand, at least for the average resident.
The states of Iowa and Illinois differ in how they report the most severe cases of the disease.
"We do reporting very scientifically while still obeying the law and allow people their privacy," said Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, the medical director of the Iowa Department of Public Health.
The state is issuing reports by region. For instance, a news release issued Monday stated that Iowa's second and third deaths from H1N1 were adult males from eastern Iowa.
In Illinois, "We decided to do our reporting on a county-by-county basis to provide as much information as possible, without jeopardizing the confidentiality of a resident," said Kelly Jakubek, a spokeswoman for that state's Department of Public Health.
Jakubek said the decision came in early August after several news media representatives asked state officials to be more specific in their reporting methods.
Reporting severe cases of H1N1 may be done regionally or on a county-by-county basis, whichever each state decides, according to Artealia Gilliard, a spokeswoman for the influenza division at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"We ask each state to report to us the people who are hospitalized or have died," she said. How that is done is ultimately up to each state or local health department, she added, and right now "the methods are all across the board."
For instance, the term "eastern Iowa" includes parts of three of the six geographic regions the health department has divided the state into for activity reporting purposes, according to its Web site map of Iowa's 99 counties.
"Eastern Iowa" takes in Region 6, which includes Scott County. Region 6 is a 14-county portion of the state that encompasses Cedar, Clinton, Jackson and Jones counties, stretching north and west of the Quad-Cities to Black Hawk County and the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area. It also includes the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City areas.
But eastern Iowa also takes in part of Region 5 - which includes Muscatine and Louisa counties - a total of 18 counties south and west of the Quad-Cities. Finally, eastern Iowa includes part of Region 2, another 18 counties north and west of the Quad-Cities.
In Illinois, the Department of Public Health Web site has maps highlighting counties where, respectively, laboratory-confirmed cases of H1N1 have been reported since April 5 and where deaths associated with laboratory-confirmed H1N1 infections have been reported since the same date.
Illinois has had 19 deaths due to H1N1. The Web site map highlights six counties where deaths have occurred, mostly in the northeastern part of the state surrounding Chicago.
Quinlisk, the Iowa medical director, cited two deaths in recent years, one from West Nile virus and one from rabies, in which grieving family members were overwhelmed by news media contacts.
"People do have a right to privacy," she said.
Iowa's policy also relates to the size of the state, she said. "What happens in New York City is very different than what happens in Greene County, Iowa," she added, referring to a western Iowa county with a population of 10,300.
