Swine flu cases spreading in Alabama, says state's public health officer

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http://blog.al.com/live/2009/09/swine_flu_cases_spreading_in_a.html
Swine flu cases spreading in Alabama, says state's public health officer
Posted by The Associated Press September 08, 2009 1:34 PM

The H1N1 virus has killed at least four people in Alabama and increased emergency room visits.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- State public health officials say swine flu is quickly spreading across Alabama. It is filling doctor's waiting rooms and increasing the number of students staying home from school.

State health officer Dr. Don Williamson said Tuesday that the virus has killed at least four people in Alabama.

He said in the past three weeks the number of schools in the state reporting more than 5 percent of students absent has jumped from 5 percent to 54 percent. He said the swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus, is also filling up hospital emergency rooms. Williamson said about 20 percent of patients at hospital emergency rooms are reporting flu-like symptoms.

 

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Re: Swine flu cases spreading in Alabama, says state's public health officer

http://blog.al.com/live/2009/09/officials_swine_flu_could_plag.html

Officials: Swine flu could plague Alabama for two months, then make a spring return
Posted by Casandra Andrews, Staff Reporter September 09, 2009 6:04 AM

The H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu. Four people in the state have died from the disease, and officials expect it to persist for at least another two months. Alabama is in the acceleration phase of an outbreak of the H1N1 virus, and it could circulate for at least two months then come back for a third round next spring, health officials said.
That prediction was based on how long the strain passed from person to person earlier this year in the U.S. and in South America this summer, said Dr. Donald Williamson, health officer for the Alabama Department of Public Health.


"Over the last week, it seems to be stabilizing," Williamson said during a Tuesday news conference. "It was not dramatically increasing."
The deaths of four people in Alabama have been linked to the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, since April. It was unclear if those patients suffered from underlying health conditions before contracting the flu, Williamson said.

"In 1918 and 1968," Williamson said, "there were third waves of the disease that occurred in the springs of those years."

Health department officials in Mobile and Baldwin counties have been working with public and private schools and others in recent weeks to create a plan to distribute doses of H1N1 vaccine when they arrive.

During Tuesday's state swine flu update, Joe Morton, state superintendent of education, noted that public school absences are up statewide, with about 54 percent of schools reporting absences of at least 5 percent as of Friday. Morton said schools typically have an annual average absentee rate of 3 percent.

Williamson said there has been "a dramatic increase in influenza-like illnesses" statewide for patients treated by private physicians in the last month.

On July 25, less than 1 percent of people being seen by doctors in private practice in Alabama reported flu-like symptoms, Williamson said. On Aug. 27, almost 8 percent of patient visits were for flu-like symptoms.

The Alabama Department of Public Health, Williamson said, has started distributing anti-viral drugs to areas with temporary shortages across the state.