New Push in H1N1 Flu Fight Set for Start of School

U.S. health officials are preparing intensively to combat an anticipated wave of outbreaks of the new H1N1 flu when children return to school and the pace of cases picks up.
Kenya Bell, left, stands with daughter, Nyeree, who along with several others came down with the flu at an American Lung Association camp in California.
Identified by scientists just three months ago, the new swine-flu virus has reached nearly every country, spreading tenaciously with what the World Health Organization this week called "unprecedented speed." Rather than die down in the summer as some experts initially expected, it is continuing to proliferate even in countries like the U.S. and U.K. that are in the full bloom of summer, when the march of influenza normally slows down. It is also spreading rapidly in the Southern Hemisphere.
Anne Schuchat, chief of immunization and respiratory diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Friday that the agency expects an increase in cases before the normal start of the flu season in mid-autumn, because children are likely to spread it to one another once they go back to school. Infectious diseases normally spread readily among children, and this virus has hit children and young adults harder than the elderly, who normally suffer the heaviest toll from flu.
"We've seen it in camps and military units," Dr. Schuchat said. "I'm expecting when school reopens and kids are all back together, in some communities at least we may see an increase."
The number of confirmed U.S. infections is now 40,617, with 263 deaths, the CDC said Friday. But the agency believes that more than one million people have been infected and weren't tested for the virus or didn't visit a doctor. The disease has become so widespread that the agency will probably suspend tallying individual case counts within the next few weeks and focus instead on tracking clusters, severe cases, deaths and other unusual events -- a more traditional approach to tracking diseases, Dr. Schuchat said.
The CDC would be following the WHO, which said on Thursday that it is abandoning individual case counts.
Most of those who have the new flu get only mildly ill for a few days and don't need treatment. But officials are concerned about the virus because it is new and could easily mutate and become more virulent as it spreads through the population. Argentina declared a nationwide animal-health emergency Friday after finding the virus possibly jumped from humans to two pig herds, a development that flu experts say could potentially spur mutations. The country's death toll from the virus stands at 137.
Global officials are also concerned because the new H1N1 virus has caused severe illness in some children and young people. Some recently published studies suggest it can cause more severe illness than seasonal flu. Deaths from flu are normally rare among children and young adults, who account for the bulk of the U.S. deaths from the pandemic strain. Nor is it clear why the virus is striking pregnant women, as well as people with asthma, diabetes and other conditions hard.
To combat the virus, federal officials are preparing to mount a massive immunization campaign, and are also urging communities, businesses and individuals to make contingency plans for possible school closures, multiple employee absences for illness, surges of patients in hospitals and other effects of potentially widespread outbreaks.
Clinical trials are expected to begin later this month to test whether a vaccine developed to combat the virus is safe and effective, and the CDC is working with state and local public-health authorities to figure out how to get as many as 600 million doses, or two for every U.S. resident, into people's arms. Results of the trials aren't expected until early October, but officials say they expect to have the first 100 million doses of vaccine ready by mid-October.
The WHO and some vaccine manufacturers reported this week that the vaccine was proving difficult to manufacture because the viruses used to make the shots are yielding only 25% to 50% of the active ingredient they normally get for flu vaccines.
But Dr. Schuchat said that wasn't affecting the U.S. government's plans. "We haven't heard news that has changed our expectations for vaccine availability in the fall," she said. "Based on what has been described to us so far, it's within the range of our planning assumptions, but that doesn't mean we won't have more surprises."

Fat people 'more likely to die of swine flu'

Here's some bad news for fat folks: Overweight people are more likely to die of swine flu, says a new US study.

According to unpublished figures, which were reported at a recent meeting of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, 99 people who died in the early stages of the pandemic in the US, 45 per cent were obese.

Up till now, most of the individuals who have died from H1N1 swine flu have had an underlying health problem which weakened their ability to fend off the virus, reports New Scientist.

Among the conditions recognised as increasing the risk from flu are hypertension, diabetes, chronic lung obstruction and coronary disease. Now it may be time to add obesity to the list.

The figures surprised most flu researchers. "In 40 years of studying flu, I have never heard anything about obesity," says virologist John Oxford of Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of London.

Eighty-Four new Swine flu cases in NC this week

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reports 84 new cases of H1N1 (swine flu) this week. To date, two deaths have occurred, both in Guilford County. The total number of confirmed H1N1 or swine flu cases in North Carolina stands at 395.

Wake County has seen 63 cases of swine flu, the highest number of confirmed cases reported. Mecklenburg County reports seven confirmed cases. The North Carolina H1N1 report was updated today.

North Carolina is experiencing seasonal as well as H1N1 (swine flu) cases. Seasonal flu claims 1000 to 2000 lives in North Carolina annually from pneumonia that can develop as a complication of flu. Influenza is a respiratory virus spread by sneezing and coughing. H1N1 flu is spread from person to person through respiratory droplets.

Symptoms of flu, including H1N1 include fever, cough, headache, sore throat, runny nose, fatigue, and general body aches.

Limiting the spread of swine flu (or any virus) is everyone’s responsibility. Wash your hands frequently. Carry antibacterial cleanser and use it when hand washing facilities are not available. Cover your nose and mouth if you sneeze or cough. If you experience symptoms, report to your doctor. If you do not have a fever, it is unlikely that you have H1N1, swine flu.

The World Health Organization declared H1N1 flu a pandemic. The first cases were recognized in April, and the virus has been spreading from human to human. Researchers are working on a vaccine for swine flu which may be available by the end of the year, but no one seems to know for certain when it might be available. There are also some safety issues being raised about H1N1 vaccine, given the hurried production.

The CDC has not issued any definitive statements about who should initially recieve swine flu vaccine, when it does become available. Challenges faced in vaccinating agains H1N1 fluy include getting the vaccine to large numbers of people in a short period of time, concurrent vaccination for seasonal flu, and the possibility of adverse events associated with a new vaccine.

Swine flu seems to primarily affect school age children and young adults. There is speculation that individuals over age 50 may have some immunity to H1N1 flu.

North Carolina officials have been gathering data on H1N1 swine flu cases. Weekly updates and resources regarding swine flu cases in North Carolina are posted at http://www.epi.state.nc.us/epi/gcdc/flu.html . Educational materials are available for families, schools, health care providers, and business at http://www.ncpanflu.gov/.

Some camps report swine flu cases

Camp directors are battling more than unruly youngsters this summer. They have been contending with outbreaks of what they think is the swine flu.

Some area camps, as well as ones outside the region that host large numbers of youngsters from the area, report sending home dozens of campers who have exhibited flulike symptoms.

Pennsylvania health officials say they know of 10 to 20 camps in the state that have had a high-enough incidence of the flu to warrant control measures such as isolating campers or sending them home.

"I'd say we've had a fair number of camps that have clusters of illness," said Stephen Ostroff, acting state physician general and director of the state Bureau of Epidemiology.

In South Jersey, fewer than five cases have been reported to health agencies. Reported cases might be low because officials test for the flu only when patients are hospitalized or clusters of illness occur.

No camps in Pennsylvania or South Jersey have closed, officials said.

Ostroff declined to say how many campers in Pennsylvania have been hospitalized with the flu. No campers have died in Pennsylvania or South Jersey, officials said.

Ostroff could not specify the number of influenza cases associated with state camps because Pennsylvania does not track camp-specific statistics and cases might not be reported at the state level, he said.

In many instances, campers aren't tested for the Novel H1N1 virus, but physicians assume they have what is known as the swine flu because seasonal influenza does not occur in the summer, said Stacy Kriedeman, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Health officials in Montgomery and Bucks Counties say they have received reports of swine flu cases among campers but declined to elaborate. No cases have been reported in Philadelphia or Chester Counties.

In South Jersey, one case was reported at a camp at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and another at a private camp in Burlington County. No cases have been reported in Camden and Gloucester Counties.

"We've heard anecdotally and in general that [this region] has not been hit as hard as other parts of the country, like the Southeast U.S.," said Ellen Warren, spokeswoman for the Keystone Regional chapter of the American Camp Association, which includes Pennsylvania and Delaware.

There are 136 American Camp Association-accredited camps in Pennsylvania and 91 in New Jersey.

Concerns about the swine flu have prompted at least 50 summer camps across the nation to cancel sessions or send campers home early. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued guidelines for camp operators that include screening campers and staff for illness before the start of camp, isolating sick campers, encouraging frequent handwashing, and training staff to recognize flu symptoms.

Camp Saginaw in Oxford, Chester County, sent some youngsters home after they exhibited flulike symptoms, but director Mike Petkov said the symptoms were not severe.

"We have had illnesses before, and this is mild in comparison," Petkov said. Saginaw hosts campers from across the nation.

Earlier, six suspected cases were reported during the Variety Club Camp in Worcester, Montgomery County. The camp ended in June.

About 55 campers at Camp Harlam in Kunkletown, Monroe County, have been sent home to recover.

At Camp Ramah in Wayne County, 61 of the camp's 391 youngsters were sent home after exhibiting flulike symptoms, said Rabbi Todd Zeff, who runs the camp.

The sick youngsters have recovered and returned to the camp, which is attended by mostly Philadelphia-area youngsters. No new cases have been reported in the last eight days, Zeff said.

Sixty-seven Air Force cadets have tested positive for swine flu

Sixty-seven Air Force cadets have tested positive for swine flu and are being isolated at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, a spokesman for the academy said Tuesday.
The outbreak is the single largest in Colorado, which up until last week had 146 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus, according to the State Public Health and Environment Department.
Academy officials first became concerned last week when a growing number of incoming freshman cadets, who began basic training in June, started falling ill with flulike symptoms.
One hundred cadets have been isolated in a dormitory, and test results from an Air Force epidemiology laboratory in Texas found that 67 had contracted swine flu. Results are still pending for dozens of cadets, said John Van Winkle, a spokesman for the academy. Seventy who fell ill were cleared to return to training.
None of the sick cadets have been hospitalized so far, and Mr. Van Winkle described all of the cases as “moderate.” Nonetheless, academy officials said they would not take any chances and called off the annual “Doolie Day Out,” in which freshman cadets, who are known as doolies, are allowed to leave campus.
Mr. Van Winkle said it was nearly impossible to determine the source of the outbreak because some cadets had fanned out across the world for various Air Force-related programs. There are 1,341 cadets in the incoming freshman class.
“Our priority right now is treating those that are ill, limiting the spread and educating our entire base population about what we have done and will continue to do,” Mr. Van Winkle said.
Joe Quimby, a spokesman for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, said the centers were working with the Defense Department to investigate the outbreak.
In Colorado, which has seen a relatively low number of swine flu cases until now, a summer youth camp at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley was stopped after 10 students and three staff members exhibited flulike symptoms over the weekend.
There have been about 37,000 confirmed cases of swine flu so far in the United States and its territories. Earlier this month, the Obama administration warned that the illness could resurge in the fall and announced plans to start vaccinations in October.