The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA, in its latest update, dated Friday evening, 19th June, 2009, reports a total of 21,449 confirmed human cases of swine flu A(H1N1) infection, including 87 deaths. Authorities say the novel A(H1N1) influenza virus has not mutated and is not more virulent (aggressive) than most normal seasonal human flu viruses. However, health services are bracing themselves for a busy flu season this winter as the swine flu virus will have been circulating for several months, but will still be a relatively novel one.

U.S. Human Cases of H1N1 Flu Infection (CDC)

Alabama – 172 cases – 0 deaths
Alaska – 23cases – 0 deaths
Arkansas – 18cases – 0 deaths
Arizona – 645 cases – 7 deaths
California – 1245 cases – 8 deaths
Colorado – 103 cases – 0 deaths
Connecticut – 767 cases – 3 death
Delaware – 223 cases – 0 deaths
Florida – 562 cases – 1 death
Georgia – 51 cases – 0 deaths
Hawaii – 279 cases – 0 deaths
Idaho – 47 cases – 0 deaths
Illinois – 2526 cases – 8 deaths
Indiana – 223 cases – 0 deaths
Iowa – 92 cases – 0 deaths
Kansas – 97 – 0 deaths
Kentucky – 108 – 0 deaths
Louisiana – 134 cases – 0 deaths
Maine – 42 – 0 deaths
Maryland – 263 – 0 deaths
Massachusetts – 1270 – 1 death
Michigan – 442 cases – 2 deaths
Minnesota – 365 – 1 death
Mississippi – 81 cases – 0 deaths
Missouri – 46 cases – 1 death
Montana – 44 cases – 0 deaths
Nebraska – 81 cases – 0 deaths
Nevada – 198 cases – 0 deaths
New Hampshire – 187 cases – 0 deaths
New Jersey – 603 cases – 2 deaths
New Mexico – 155 cases – 0 deaths
New York – 1300 – 24 deaths
North Carolina – 125 cases – 0 deaths
North Dakota – 41 cases – 0 deaths
Ohio – 63 cases – 0 deaths
Oklahoma – 112 cases – 1 death
Oregon – 219 cases – 1 death
Pennsylvania – 942 cases – 3 deaths
Rhode Island – 94 cases – 1 death
South Carolina – 83 – 0 deaths
South Dakota – 17 cases – 0 deaths
Tennessee – 121 cases – 0 deaths
Texas – 2519 cases – 10deaths
Utah – 755 cases – 8 deaths
Vermont – 43 cases – 0 deaths
Virginia – 135 cases – 1 death
Washington – 588 cases – 3 deaths
Washington, D.C. – 33 cases – 0 deaths
West Virginia – 77 cases – 0 deaths
Wisconsin – 3008 cases – 1 death
Wyoming – 63 cases – 0 deaths
Territories
Puerto Rico – 18 case – 0 deaths
Virgin Islands – 1 case – 0 deaths

TOTAL – 21,449 cases – 87 deaths
(Total includes District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and US Virgin Islands)

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Swine flu infection of health care workers (or as CDC refers to them, health care personnel or HCP) was of interest early in the pre-pandemic phase for at last two reasons. One was the obvious goal of estimating the risk to front line workers and devising best practices for their protection. Another was the belief, reinforced by the SARS outbreak in 2003, that spread to HCP was an early warning that the virus was easily transmissible from person to person. SARS is a disease where patients are most infectious in the later stages when they are extremely ill, and HCP were among the hardest hit groups. Most flu is transmitted in the community, but the SARS model still seems appropriate for flu viruses like H5N1 (“bird flu”) where transmission is rare. Any report that a health care worker has been infected from a bird flu patient is viewed with alarm, possibly suggesting that the probability of transmission has increased. And bird flu was the template upon which pandemic planning was based. So within a few weeks of the outbreak (the first case of novel H1N1 was diagnosed in mid-April), CDC asked state health departments to report any cases of novel H1N1 among HCP. Yesterday they reported the first results in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWR):

As of May 13, CDC had received 48 reports of confirmed or probable infections with novel influenza A (H1N1) virus; of these, 26 reports included detailed case reports with information regarding risk factors that might have led to infection. Of the 26 cases, 13 (50%) HCP were deemed to have acquired infection in a health-care setting, including one instance of probable HCP to HCP transmission and 12 instances of probable or possible patient to HCP transmission. Eleven HCP had probable or possible acquisition in the community, and two had no reported exposures in either health-care or community settings. Among 11 HCP with probable or possible patient to HCP acquisition and available information on PPE [Personal Protective Equipment] use, only three reported always using either a surgical mask or an N95 respirator. (CDC, MMWR [cites omitted])

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Health officials said on Thursday that it looks like the novel H1N1 swine flu virus will continue to spread in the US through the summer months, and then resurge in the autumn. This is different to the previous expectation that the swine flu virus would follow a seasonal flu pattern: abate in the northern hemisphere as it approached the summer, spend a few months in southern hemisphere countries that are now approaching winter, and then return to the northern hemisphere in the fall.

Two senior officials from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta held a telebriefing with journalists yesterday and spoke about the pattern of swine flu transmission in the US and also about infections among health workers and the need for more rigour in H1N1 infection control in health care settings.

Dr Daniel Jernigan, Deputy Director of the Influenza Division at the CDC said 89 per cent of flu cases the CDC are seeing now are the novel H1N1 strain, but the pattern varies widely across the US.

The latest figures from the CDC show that the number of lab-confirmed novel H1N1 cases in the US now exceeds 17,800, including about 1,600 that have been hospitalized and 44 deaths, but Jernigan said surveys suggest the actual number of novel H1N1 infections is probably much greater, and around 7 per cent of the population is currently reporting flu-like symptoms.

Although the overall proportion of outpatients being treated for flu-like illness is now below the national baseline (more or less as expected with seasonal flu), 17 states were still reporting flu activity, with patterns of infection vary significantly from region to region: Northeastern states continue to have the highest number of cases, especially New York and Massachusetts.

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BBC

An RNAS Yeovilton servicewoman diagnosed with swine flu is said to be recovering well.

The sailor who was diagnosed last week was treated at the base but is now recovering at home.

Those in direct contact with her at the base in Somerset have been issued with anti-viral drugs.

An RNAS Yeovilton spokeswoman said no further cases had been reported at the station and it was “business as normal” at the base.

Yeovilton is home to the Royal Navy (RN) Lynx helicopters and the RN Commando Helicopter Force.

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KWTX

TEMPLE (June 18, 2009)—A child who has been attending the city-run Camp Heatwave day camp in Temple has been diagnosed with swine flu, officials said Thursday as the total number of confirmed cases rose to 84.

Camp Heatwave is for children ages 5 to 14 and runs from June 5 through Aug. 21 at the Wilson Park Recreation Center.

The child’s parents advised the city of the diagnosis Wednesday night.

The Bell County Health District advised the city to follow the guidelines of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at the day camps.

Preventive steps include covering the mouth when coughing, frequent hand washing and staying home if sick.
Temple’s city manager, parks director and other officials briefed day camp staffers on the situation Thursday morning and reviewed the guidelines that campers and counselors need to follow.

The information is also being provided to the parents and caregivers of children who are attending the camp, the city said.

“The safety and well being of the children who attend our day camps and other programs are always of paramount concern to us,” said City Manager David Blackburn.

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By John Borsa, WKBW

Sources tell Eyewitness News that a student at Buffalo School #59 is hospitalized with a severe case of swine flu. The student is reportedly in critical condition.

Out of the 154 confirmed cases of swine flu in Erie County since April, only a handful have been serious, said Dr. Anthony Billittier, the county’s health commissioner.

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By Sarah Bruyn Jones, The Roanoke Times

The Virginia Department of Health has confirmed the first case of swine flu in Roanoke.

The health department would not elaborate on the sex, age or condition of the person, citing federal privacy laws.

But the Roanoke City Health Department contacted The Roanoke Times after it was confirmed that a student attending an annual journalism workshop at the paper had a confirmed case of the H1N1 flu virus, according to a statement by The Roanoke Times.

The William Fleming High School student was part of a planned weeklong journalism camp at The Roanoke Times that began Monday. Monday was a furlough day at the newspaper, and most employees did not work.

Roanoke Times officials decided Tuesday to cancel the last three days of the Minority Journalism Workshop after learning that the student had tested positive for Type A flu.

Every summer since 1982, The Roanoke Times has hosted a Minority Journalism Workshop to introduce area high school students to the field of journalism.

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BY STEVEN HILL, Daily News

The spread of the swine flu contagion has yet to reach scary “I Am Legend” proportions, but things are getting pretty hairy out there. The World Health Organization has declared a pandemic, the first flu pandemic in 41 years, as infections continue to climb in the United States, Europe, Australia, South America and elsewhere.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States has confirmed 45 deaths associated with swine flu among more than 17,500 cases reported. With the U.S. economy already reeling, workplaces also have been affected, causing President Obama to urge workers with flu symptoms to “stay home.”

But for far too many American workers, that is easier said than done. About 160 nations provide mandatory paid sick days, with 127 providing a week or more annually. Unfortunately the U.S. is not one of them, leaving some 60 million workers – 43% of the private industry labor force – without any paid sick days.

What that really means is that, in all these other countries, when you’re sick, they want you to stay home and take care of yourself. In the United States, when you’re sick we want you to report to work and infect your coworkers and customers.

Leaving aside the moral arguments, such a policy makes little economic sense. Coverage is missing most for many service sector and low-income workers who can least afford to self-subsidize their own sick leave. So when you go to a restaurant, or to your local grocery or office supply store, there’s a good chance that the employees handling your food or handing you your change don’t have any paid sick leave coverage. If they get sick, they probably cannot afford to stay home.

Care for some swine flu served with your French fries, anyone?

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CNN

Three children at a summer camp in northern Georgia have contracted swine flu and dozens more have been separated from other campers after showing signs of the flu, but all are recovering, authorities said Thursday.

About 60 campers and a few staffers at Camp Ramah Darom were separated from the rest and are being treated on the grounds, said Andrea Proser, a spokeswoman for the camp.

One child was hospitalized briefly, but most symptoms have been “mild to moderate” so far, she said.

“Thankfully, it’s mild, and they’re recovering relatively quickly — within 48 hours,” Proser said.

Ramah Darom is a Jewish summer camp near Clayton, about 110 miles northeast of Atlanta. About 400 children, typically ages 9 to 16, are at the camp, along with about 200 counselors and staff, Proser said.

The first cases were reported Monday, said Dave Palmer, a spokesman for the Georgia Division of Public Health.

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By Carly Rothman, The Star-Ledger

SUSSEX — A 10-year-old boy from the county is the third New Jersey resident with H1N1 influenza to die, the state health agency reported today.

The child, who had underlying medical conditions, was hospitalized June 14 after developing a cough and fever, according to a statement from the state Department of Health and Senior Services. He died Wednesday at Morristown Memorial Hospital, the agency said.

The boy had no symptoms on June 11, when he was last in school, the statement noted. The agency did not identify the child’s school or hometown.

Joseph A. Trunfio, acting president of Morristown Memorial Hospital president and CEO of its parent organization, Atlantic Health, issued a statement last night noting the child’s unspecified conditions existed before he was admitted to the hospital.

Trunfio added patients with flu-like symptoms that require hospitalization are routinely isolated, in keeping with the hospital’s pandemic flu plan.

“The Morristown Memorial Hospital community expresses deepest condolences to the family of a child who passed away at our hospital today,” he wrote in the statement.

New Jersey currently has 415 confirmed cases of the novel flu virus in 19 counties, with 252 probable cases awaiting confirmatory testing by the state laboratory, according to the state health agency’s statement.

Two other two New Jersey residents to die with H1N1 influenza were a 49-year-old West Orange man, Michael Reiser, who died June 13 at Mountainside Hospital in Glen Ridge, and a 15-year-old boy who died June 8 at home in Somerset County.

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